To Cross the Rubicon
by pottergal
Summary: COMPLETE, Epilogue up:: It all started with a simple bet... but ends with an unexpected twist. Where will it lead our two heroes? Rather cryptic, I know, but it's hard to describe without giving it away. JC, and PG just in case.
1. The Egypt Project and Foolhardy Bets

Hi everyone! Author here to let you know that I don't own Jimmy Neutron; I'm just borrowing the characters without permission for some harmless fun. The show belongs to Nickelodeon and the guys who created it. I'm just a poor student, and if you try to sue me, I'll be in debt for the rest of my life.

Now that the disclaimer's over, on with the show!

_To Cross the Rubicon_

By: pottergal

Chapter One: The Egypt Project and Foolhardy Bets

Cindy Vortex sat at her customary seat in Miss Fowl's classroom, her left heel tapping impatiently against the floor and a muscle in her cheek twitching absently. She stared straight ahead at the chalkboard before her, gripping her pencil more tightly than was probably necessary, and chewed at the bottom of her lip. All in all, she was trying her hardest to focus on the lesson at hand and ignore the big-headed, soft-serve-style haired boy who sat beside her.

And he just had to make it difficult, as it was his mission in life to correct each and every single mistake their poor teacher made in the information she presented.

"And so-o-o-o you see," Miss Fowl said as she turned away from the chalkboard, revealing the complicated set of elementary algebra, and naturally Jimmy's hand shot to the air. Cindy watched the teacher sigh.

"Ye-e-e-e-s, Jimmy?" she asked, her tone weary, and Cindy braced herself for the worst.

"Miss Fowl, might I suggest that you present another way to solve the problem on the board? There are many different formulas and methods to use when solving that sort of quadratic equation; the factoring method you presented is rather complicated. Shouldn't we have started with the actual formula designed for those types of problems?" he asked, his voice holding a mixture of honest confusion, innocence, and a tone Cindy particularly hated; that superior, know-it-all one he normally used.

Miss Fowl blinked at him for a moment, as if she was trying to digest his lengthy question. "This is what we're do-o-o-oing today, Jimmy," she said at last, shaking her head a little, and Cindy smirked inwardly at the frown that appeared on his face.

Now normally, at the end of his typical explanations and questions, Cindy would've interjected with one of her customary barbs, but at this point in time she was trying to stay in Miss Fowl's good graces.

And that meant not arguing with Jimmy.

Unfortunately, the morning's presentations of show and tell had resulted in Miss Fowl running for her life when Jimmy's Virtua Chef 9000 had gone hay-wire. As for how it had gone hay-wire… well… Cindy cringed at the memory. She, of course, had been arguing with Jimmy over how a holographic, computer programmed chef couldn't possibly compete with the dishes prepared by a human one. Naturally he'd disagreed with her, and had failed to notice Carl messing with the controls in his vain attempt to order the hologram to make him that disgusting pizza he liked so much. The holographic chef had been programmed with the acceptable toppings, so Carl had decided to add his favorite toppings to the list. And of course he'd messed things up.

"Uh, Jimmy?"

"What?!" Jimmy had snapped in response, as he'd been interrupted mid-explanation. When he'd seen what the chef was doing, however, his jaw had dropped in horror. The hologram had somehow imprinted Miss Fowl as 'chicken', and was now trying its hardest to make a Chinese chicken salad, using her as the main ingredient. It had chased their teacher from the room as it brandished a rather large, and sharp, meat cleaver.

"Great going, Nerd-tron," Cindy had drawled. "Can't you ever make something that's idiot proof?" Her gaze had flicked to Carl as she spoke, and Jimmy glared at her. Her meaning had been lost on the llama loving boy, as he was dancing from foot to foot in worry for their teacher, but it hadn't been lost on Jimmy.

"I don't go insulting your friends, Vortex," he'd retorted angrily, his gaze narrowing as he spoke. "So leave mine out of it!"

"But you see, my friends aren't brain dead!"

"I beg to differ! And you must rub off on them, as you are the most insipid and ignorant one of them all!"

"What did you just call me?!"

"You heard me," Jimmy had said, enunciating each word carefully. "Or is your hearing failing along with your intellect?" Jimmy had smirked as he spoke, crossing his hands over his chest. "Shall I fetch you a dictionary so you can look it up?"

"I know what it means, you nauseating little worm! I'm not stupid!"

"Funny, you've given me no reason to believe otherwise," Jimmy had said coolly, and Cindy had bared her teeth in an angry growl. It had taken every shred of control not to slug him.

"Would you two shut up and do something?" Libby had screamed, effectively breaking up their argument. "Carl's going into hysterics and if you don't hurry, you're going to be held responsible when that crazy thing turns our teacher into lunch!" Cindy had paled at that, suddenly remembering Miss Fowl's current state of peril.

"Since this is all Jimmy's fault, I vote that we blame him," Sheen had said, holding up his hand, and Cindy had smirked at Jimmy's look of shock.

"And what was I saying about friends?"

"CINDY! FOCUS!" She'd winced at Libby's shout, and had grinned at her friend sheepishly.

"Sorry, couldn't resist…"

It hadn't been much long after that when Jimmy had figured out how to undo the damage that Carl had done, but Miss Fowl had been furious. In a rare move, she'd given both Jimmy and Cindy ten demerits and had threatened them with ten more each if they so much as uttered a peep to each other the rest of the class. When Cindy had tried to protest, as she hadn't done anything to Jimmy's invention, she'd earned herself a detention along with the explanation that she'd distracted him by arguing.

_Talk about unfair... _she thought with an internal sigh as she fought the urge to tell Neutron to shut up. He'd gone off on a rather complicated lecture about the proper functions of mathematical equations, and naturally Cindy was delighted when Miss Fowl had interrupted.

"That's i-i-i-it!" she shouted, silencing Jimmy instantly. "Detention, Mr. Neutron, for purposely di-i-i-srupting class!"

"But Miss Fowl-"

"Ke-e-e-p talking, Jimmy, and I'll ma-a-a-ke it for the who-o-o-le week, bra-a-wk!" she clucked angrily when he tried to argue, and after hearing her threat, Cindy watched him shut his mouth with a click.

_Too bad he's smart enough to realize when he shouldn't press something..._ Cindy thought with another small sigh of regret. She would've liked to taunt him about being stuck in detention for the rest of the week, being that it was only Tuesday.

The rest of the class passed by smoothly, albeit much more silently than it otherwise would have, but soon there was only ten minutes to go. Miss Fowl sent Amber around to collect their class work, and then passed out a handout detailing their newest group project.

"Si-i-i-nce we're currently stu-u-u-dying the history and cu-u-ulture of Egypt, this is a project where three or fo-o-o-ur of you get together and present so-o-o-m-thing from the region. I have a sign up sheet on the board fo-o-or you to fill out, and I wa-a-ant this one month from to day!" Miss Fowl explained, and Cindy felt Libby poke her arm.

"Whadda ya say, girlfriend?" Libby asked with a wide grin. "We groupies?"

Cindy nodded before standing and taking her pencil, she wrote her name and Libby's on the first set of four lines. Once finished, she felt a tap on her shoulder, and blinked when she found Nissa standing behind her.

"I hate to be a bother, but could Natesa and I be in your group?" she asked shyly, and Cindy's gaze turned to the girl standing beside her. Natesa was a girl she'd never really noticed in class before, being that she was painfully quiet. Cindy assumed she was Middle Eastern, with creamy, bronze skin, exotic brown eyes, and long, thick, jet-black hair.

"Sure!" Cindy said brightly and turned back to the list. She was glad to have Nissa, and she knew Natesa was an extremely hard worker, as she'd been grouped with her during class before. "Give Libby your phone numbers and we'll call you to figure out when we should meet to work out what we're going to do. Oh, and Natesa? How do you spell your last name?"

"It's spelled O-j-u-f-e-m-i," she said softly, Cindy transcribing each letter carefully. "It's actually Egyptian in origin."

_What luck! She must know a lot about Egypt! _Cindy thought as she turned around and grinned at the girl.

"That's cool," she said and watched Natesa blush slightly as a small smile grew on her face. "Are you Egyptian?"

"My father is," she said, her voice gaining slowly more confidence, and the two of them walked back to Libby's desk, where Nissa was writing down her phone number for them. "We could actually meet at my house if you want to; I think I might have an idea for what we can do for the project. That is," she added hastily, looking around anxiously, "if no one has a better one."

"Oh, don't worry," Libby said breezily, waving her hand a little in dismissal. "We like to hear all options before picking something."

Natesa smiled gently at that, and Nissa handed her the paper and pen.

"So what are the two of you doing tomorrow after school?" Cindy asked as Natesa wrote down her phone number. "I normally have tai chi lessons, but my instructor is sick this week, so I'm free."

"Works for me," Libby said, nodding, and Nissa nodded as well. "What about you, Natesa?"

"I'm not sure, but I'll ask my mom tonight about my idea as well as getting together tomorrow, and then I'll call everyone," she said as she handed the paper to Libby. "Could I have your number and Cindy's? I already have Nissa's."

"Sure," Libby said, and tore the paper in half before scribbling on it quickly. "What's this idea you're thinking of?"

"Well…" Natesa started, biting her lower lip a little. "I'm not sure if it'll work out yet, so I don't want to get your hopes up if you like it. Wait until tonight when I call."

"All right," Cindy said as the bell rang, and she sighed. "What time will you call, Natesa?"

"Maybe around eight?"

"That's fine, I'll talk to you then," Cindy called as people began trailing from the room. She watched them leave enviously but after a moment she drew herself up and took her seat. It was detention time…

* * *

Cindy watched sadly as Libby finally trailed from the classroom, gracing her with a small, sad wave before leaving, and soon the only people left in the room were herself, Miss Fowl, and God's greatest gift (and curse) to mankind, Jimmy Neutron.

"How long will we be staying, Miss Fowl? My mother expects me home by four-thirty at the latest," he said, his tone rather glum and cross. The teacher looked up at him for a moment before looking at the clock and sighing.

"I ha-a-a-ve a meeting in a few minutes, so-o-o-o I can't stay to wa-a-a-atch you," she said, clucking regretfully. "So I'm going to do-o-o-o something that's probably really stu-u-u-pid, and trust the two of you to stay until thre-e-e-e thirty."

"You can trust us, Miss Fowl," Cindy spoke up, painting a charming smile on her face. "We may fight constantly, but we are trustworthy. We swear we won't leave for the half-hour, unless it's to go to the bathroom."

Miss Fowl eyed the both of them, her beady gaze flicking from Cindy to Jimmy rapidly, but soon she sighed again and stood, plucking a small purse from the floor.

"All right, but if I he-e-e-ar that either of you has left before the set time, both of you will be serving de-e-e-etentions for the re-e-e-est of the month, bra-a-a-awk!" she said sternly, and Cindy glanced at Jimmy from the corner of her eye, daring him to even try and put her in detention for that long.

With that, Miss Fowl began to rummage around in her desk, selecting files and such that she needed for her meeting. Rather than sit idle, Cindy opened her math book to the page of the homework and began to work. She half-hoped that by engrossing herself enough in the boring problems, she'd avoid talking to Neutron.

Naturally Fate had other ideas.

It only took a few minutes after Miss Fowl left the classroom, locking the door as she went, for Jimmy to speak up. Cindy supposed he was waiting until he was certain that their teacher was out of earshot, as he didn't want to take any chances of her hearing their coming argument.

"I was surprised, Vortex. You can control your mouth if you really try," he said, purposely picking at her. She knew it was to work off some of the frustration he felt, as she'd done the same to him on occasion.

"Then you won't mind if I ask you to do the same," she shot back crossly, glaring up at him from her homework. "I'm trying to work here, in case you hadn't noticed. Unlike you, I'd rather not waste this precious half hour." She watched him frown a little when she refused to really rise to his bait, and she turned back to her algebra.

"It takes you that long to do math homework?" he jabbed, trying a different track, and Cindy bit the inside of her cheek to keep from responding. "Honestly, Vortex, I think you're slipping. It never has taken you that long to do anything school related."

"What do you care?" she snapped, finding it harder to ignore him, especially when he smirked, which was the one thing that really irked her beyond belief. She couldn't stand how smug he always looked. "Just what is your problem, anyway? I was just sitting here, minding my own business. And I'd appreciate it if things could go back to that."

"So school is getting harder for you." The cool, even tone of his voice was almost enough to make her snap her pencil in two, and she couldn't restrain the glare that zeroed in on him. "Hm, seems I've hit a nerve. Otherwise I don't think I would've gotten such a strong reaction from you."

"The only reason you're getting a reaction, dipstick brain, is because you're preventing me from focusing on my homework!"

"Shouldn't you be able to ignore me by now?" His grin was maddening, making her blood boil in anger, and Cindy felt her fists clench, her nails digging into her palms.

"Maybe if I filled my ears with wax and then blasted some of Libby's music! Only a deaf person would be able to ignore you, Mr. I-Can't-Shut-Up, Even-If-It-Means-I-Get-Detention-Because-I-Have-To-Show-Off!" She managed to wipe the grin from his face with that one, a ripple of satisfaction running through her. "I bet that's why you always group with Llama Lord and Ultra-dork; compared with them you have absolutely no competition! Heaven forbid that one of your friends should be smarter than you!"

"Now that was uncalled for!"

"You're the one who started it! Or are you only talk, Nerd-tron? Can't take the heat?" She watched as his gaze narrowed angrily as she spoke, her satisfaction growing.

"Quit bringing my friends into it!"

"The only reason you're so upset is because you know it's true," she said smugly and watched his glare darken. "Admit it, you're just a selfish, shallow, attention addict! It would probably kill you to do anything below exemplary, so you choose friends you know wouldn't dare interfere with your brilliance!"

"At least my projects don't suffer from mediocrity! And I bet that the project that Sheen, Carl, and I whip together will be a hundred times better than anything you could hope to dream up!" he yelled, and Cindy realized that the two of them had gotten to their feet. When they'd done so, she couldn't remember, but she supposed it wasn't that important.

"You think so, Neutron?" she said, crossing her arms over her chest and narrowing her gaze speculatively. "Well, think again, because nothing you could possibly come up with in that ridiculously oversized head of yours can compare with the project my group has planned!"

"Is that a bet?" Jimmy growled and Cindy smirked down at him.

"If you wanna make it one," she shot back.

"Fine! And when I win, you have to be my personal servant for a month!" His grin was back, promising her that he'd make it the worst month of her life.

"Well too bad, because it isn't going to happen," she said and pushed a finger against his chest harshly, making him step back a little. "When I win, you're going to be wearing a dress of my choosing every day for a month, AND you have to shave your head!"

"Bring it on, Vortex!"

"Oh I will, Neutron! And may the best GIRL win!"

* * *

Author's Note:

Okay, so here's my rant, and I promise that this'll be the only long one. I would've put it at the beginning, but I know how people tend to skip the stuff at the beginning so they can get on with the story. I've found that they tend to read stuff at the end because they're looking for more, or something. Anyway, here's the first chapter, and here's my logic behind this story. After watching many episodes of Jimmy Neutron, but not all :(, and WL&K, a thought struck me. The viewer knows that Cindy likes Jimmy a heck of a lot, but you're never really shown anything to say that he likes her at the same level that she likes him. Sure, they almost kiss a couple of times, but isn't one of those times when he's under that love pheromone? And as for the second time… well, let's just say I'm not convinced and I want some serious closure. I want to see them get together at least to a point when they're not going back to how things were, like at the end of WL I'm taking her crumpling up the contract and tossing it at him as such. Jimmy probably has some inkling of what Cindy feels, and maybe on a subconscious level he realizes that she does like him, but I don't think he's taken the time to really address _his_ feelings about her. Guys are deceptively simple, or so my older brother says; they don't take the time to really soul search themselves unless forced into a situation where they have to. So enter my little story, woo hoo.

If you're still reading this after that big long paragraph above, I'd like to know what you guys think about the chapter. I know it's kind of slow, but I'm setting the stage (that's my excuse anyway ;). Hopefully Jimmy isn't too out of character… since this is told from Cindy's perspective for now, I'm assuming that she'd find Jimmy as cheeky and mean as he appears here. So who do you think is going to win? Will Jimmy have to shave his head and endure the torment of his classmates for an entire month? Or will Cindy be forced into a month of embarrassing servitude? Stay tuned!


	2. A Fool Proof Project?

Hey there everyone, thanks for coming back for the second chapter! Sorry the update took so long… normally I'm pretty good about updating, but these past few weeks have been hectic with Christmas and my birthday and so on. Anyway, I'm going to take a little of your time before I start this chapter to thank all my reviewers; I personally think that I got some of the best out there, just because I got a ton of feedback from you all. (Well, maybe not a ton, but I'd say that writing a paragraph is a lot more feedback than a sentence… but not to say I'm complaining! I love getting long reviews! So keep them coming!)

Anyway, to answer some questions: WL&K stands for Win, Lose, or Kaboom! Which is the title of the most recent tv movie thing. I liked it, even though I thought Jimmy was out of character, as he's never the type to go and be "I'm the only one who can save us!" At least those are my thoughts on it. And to sheryl, what I do to prep for my writing is I essentially immerse myself in the world of Jimmy Neutron and I try to think about each character's perspective. Hope that helps! (And I'm sorry I didn't respond to your email, mine has been going nuts lately! I can receive stuff, but I never can send any out…)

And now before I truly start: standard Disclaimer still applies. I own nothing JN related and most likely never will…

_To Cross the Rubicon _  
By: pottergal

Chapter Two: A Fool Proof Project?

It was Wednesday afternoon by the time the severity of her hasty bet with Neutron had finally sunken into Cindy's skull. Natesa had called the night before but hadn't been able to say much aside from giving Cindy the time of their group meeting, and all through class Jimmy had been especially annoying, dropping hints every chance he got about the brilliant project he had cooked up. Cindy had tried talking to Libby about her problem, but her best friend had been curiously absent though lunch, leaving Cindy to pick at her mashed potatoes alone.

It wasn't like she hadn't tried calling Libby the night before and they couldn't exactly talk during class. Sitting right in front of Miss Fowl had its definite drawbacks, especially when she couldn't hope to pass notes back and forth without getting caught.

Besides, she reasoned, knowing Neutron and the way they lived to torture each other, he would probably take great delight in squealing on her.

"See you tomorrow, Vortex!"

She looked up from her notebooks to see Jimmy waving cheekily at her from the doorway of the classroom.

"Good luck at your group meeting; maybe you can cobble together something using your painfully ordinary imagination!" he called, his tone swimming in gleeful mirth and Cindy glowered at him.

"You wouldn't know imagination if it came up and bit you in the face!" she retorted, wrapping her arms around her books and heading for the door. "Besides, I'm sure whatever you're planning is going to get messed up one way or another. None of your so-called pioneering inventions ever work right." Laughter from the remaining students accompanied her quip and she smirked down at him as she exited, heading for her locker.

"So if worse comes to worse, I'll just win by default!" she called over her shoulder, and grinned when she heard his growl of frustration. All too easy. Now to find Libby…

Libby, in fact, found her first, along with Nissa and Natesa, who appeared to be waiting for her at the front of the school. And so, with backpacks and books in tow, the four girls set out for Natesa's house, which turned out to be only a few blocks from school.

"So what's this I hear about a bet between you and Jimmy?" Libby asked, fixing Cindy with an incredulous stare. "Don't tell me that you've gone and done something stupid again… have you?"

"Um… heh…" Cindy looked away sheepishly, a small nervous laugh escaping from her.

"Cindy, I don't believe you!" Libby exclaimed, her brow knitting when she frowned.

"Hey, it depends on your idea of stupid!" she shot back defensively. "So yeah, I made a bet with Neutron over the projects. And when I win, we get to watch as he humiliates himself for a month by dressing in drag."

"Big deal, you already did that once," Libby said, rolling her eyes, and Cindy frowned a little. "Remember? When the two of you accidentally switched bodies?"

"Don't remind me, please," Cindy said, a shudder running through her. "But trust me Libs, it gets better."

"Do tell," Libby said with another eye roll, her tone dripping in sarcasm.

"Well, I also made it so he has to shave his head…"

"You mean no more of that stupid sundae style hair?" Libby asked, lifting one of her eyebrows in disbelief. "I can't believe he agreed to that. He must've been pretty angry when he did so; I can't think of any other time when his judgment lapses." Libby paused then, giving Cindy a piercing look over. "You didn't agree to something similar… did you?"

"Not at all," Cindy replied as they crossed the street, entering the residential section. "If that big-brained doofus manages to pull off a win, then I…" She took a deep breath, feeling Libby's apprehensive gaze upon her. "Well, I have to be his personal servant for a month."

"WHAT?!"

Cindy winced at Libby's shriek before giving her a severe frown, but Libby didn't notice. She was too busy muttering to herself about Cindy's clear lack of good judgement.

"What's the big deal? There's no way I'm going to let him win," Cindy told her, earning another look of disbelief from Libby. "I don't care what he's planning; something always goes wrong with his ideas, so there's no way I can lose."

"Well…"

Libby's tone made Cindy pause and she turned to her best friend.

"Okay, spill. What do you know that I clearly don't?" she demanded and Libby winced before looking at her shoes. "You know what Neutron is planning, don't you?" Another wince from Libby told her she was right.

"Libby, listen to me. I don't care what he made you swear on, but you've got to tell me what that little nitwit is planning. We're best friends, and that bond over rules everything," Cindy said, her tone steely and a touch desperate. Whatever Jimmy had up his sleeve must be big if Libby was acting so strangely.

"All right, all right," she said at last, hanging her head. "But if he finds out…"

"How could he? He hasn't bugged you, has he?"

"It's highly unlikely, but I wouldn't put it past him," Libby said, looking around anxiously. "He seemed to think that his idea was absolutely perfect."

"So what is it already?"

"Well, you know why I was missing at lunch today?" Libby began and Cindy nodded. "Jimmy convinced me to go back to that lost tomb we found so we could film some stuff for National Geographic, which he's going to use to make a 3-D, interactive replica for a museum somewhere. I think he's making it so you feel like you're actually in the tomb; he's got a plan for a sweet sound system and everything."

Cindy stared at Libby, her mouth hanging open.

"THAT is his project?"

As Libby nodded, a sinking feeling filled Cindy.

_Unless Natesa's idea is the best thing ever... I'm doomed.

* * *

_

"Just put your things in the kitchen and then meet me in the basement. My mother is waiting for us down there," Natesa said as they entered her house, gesturing to the room on her left before racing up the stairwell on her right. "I need to go change and I'll be back in a few minutes!"

Cindy frowned at the girl's retreating back; maybe it was due to the fact she was in comfortable territory, but Natesa had dropped her quiet nature. After shrugging inwardly, she followed Libby and Nissa into the kitchen to find a plate of cookies and several empty glasses resting on the table.

"Ooh, these look like Natesa's mother's cookies," Nissa cooed before grabbing two from the plate. "They're the best chocolate chip that I've ever had! You guys have to try them!"

"I can't ever say no to free snacks," Libby said as she helped herself to one and nibbled at the corner curiously. Cindy watched as her face lit up with joy and she popped the rest of the cookie into her waiting mouth.

"Cindy, have one! They're delicious!"

"Um, that's all right…" she said as she set her things beside Nissa's. "I'm really not all that hungry." Libby gave her a strange look at that, but didn't press the issue. Cindy wasn't going to tell her why she wasn't hungry… it was due to her growing dread about the project.

What could they possibly come up with to rival Neutron's suave documentary? It seemed the numbskull had finally managed to think up something cool for a project, and with National Geographic behind the planning and the filming, there was no way things were going to get messed up.

_Come on, Vortex! Quit thinking like that! _She told herself sternly, looking up to see Nissa and Libby heading down a flight of stairs that branched off from the kitchen. Cindy could only assume that it lead to the basement.

"Funny, this doesn't look like the way to a typical basement…" Libby's voice trailed up the staircase and Cindy heard Nissa laugh a little.

"That's because it's not a typical basement. Natesa's family converted it to a dance studio a long time ago," Nissa said and Cindy heard Libby's gasp of delight. Not wanting to be left in the dark any longer, Cindy hurried after the two of them and found herself in a modern type studio, complete with polished pinewood floors and floor-to-ceiling mirrors that covered the walls.

"Whoa…" she whispered, looking around with wide eyes. "Does her family teach dance lessons or something?"

"Sort of," a new voice said, and Cindy looked up to find a rather petite woman smiling at them from across the room. She looked similar enough to Natesa that Cindy felt safe enough to assume that this was her mother, but the woman had creamy skin where Natesa's was bronze. Her deep blue eyes sparkled at them mischievously and her long brown hair had been tied up in a pony tail.

"Welcome to The Studio," the woman said warmly as the three girls approached, and Cindy watched her gaze flick downwards to their feet. "I suppose my daughter forgot to mention our rule. We don't wear shoes down here; it helps save the floor."

"Oh!"

All three girls stammered a quick apology and tugged off their sneakers before placing them in a corner. Nissa was blushing heavily, and when Libby questioned her, she told them that Mrs. Ojufemi was always reminding her to take off her shoes before coming downstairs.

"I always forget; it never fails," Nissa said sadly, but a soft shimmering sound interrupted her and Cindy looked at the stairway.

"Natesa?!"

"Yup," the girl said happily as both Libby and Cindy stared. "What do you think of my costume? My grandma and my mom helped me make it." She did a little spin as she spoke, causing all the tiny bells sewn into her costume to jingle in that unique shimmering whisper.

"It's gorgeous," Cindy said, as it certainly was. Natesa was clothed in something Cindy had long typically associated with belly dancers; she wore a pair of flowing pants made from some soft, sheer material. The bottoms had been synched around her ankles and the pants sat low on her hips. Beneath the pants was a pair of spandex shorts along with a pair of gold fabric slippers. Her upper torso was clothed in what looked like a sports bra, but she'd attached sleeves made from the same sheer material as the pants, and they flowed gently to her elbows. Everything had been made in a deep blue, and it accented her coloring beautifully.

"Most of the jewelry is my mom's, but she said she'd let us borrow almost anything we need," Natesa said as she stepped into the room, her anklets, wristlets, belly chain, and necklaces jangling as she walked. "She even has finger cymbals, but those take a lot of time to master, and we might not have enough."

"Wait a second," Libby said, and everyone looked at her. "We're going to be doing what exactly?" Cindy decided she looked faintly incredulous.

"Well, it's a little known fact that one of the roots of belly dancing is in Egypt. So I talked things over with my mom last night, and she agreed to choreograph a traditional Egyptian belly dance for us," Natesa said, beaming at them and Libby's jaw dropped.

"But would Miss Fowl honestly agree to something like this? Isn't it a little too unconventional?" Libby asked, her eyebrows quirking slightly, and Natesa shrugged, her jewelry jingling softly.

"I don't see why not," the girl said, looking from person to person. "All Miss Fowl said was that we had to present an aspect of Egypt, and this is certainly one of them."

"Then it's settled!"

Heads instantly turned to Cindy, who felt like she was grinning like a madman.

"This idea is perfect! It's just the thing we need!" she crowed and Natesa began leaping for joy. "Libby and I are excellent dancers so we shouldn't have any problems learning a routine… but we're going to have to work extra hard on this! I want it to be perfect so we can knock the socks right off the class!"

"Cindy…" Libby began, a warning tone to her voice, and Cindy grabbed her best friend before dragging her into a corner.

"Come on, Libby, you have to admit that this sounds like fun! And it's just the thing to beat Neutron! All the guys can't resist a good belly dance and the girls will fall head over heels for our costumes!" Cindy explained, finding it difficult to keep her voice below a whisper from the amount of excitement she felt. "You don't want to see me chained to Neutron's will for a month, do you?"

Libby gave her a look at that. "But you do realize that this is going to be difficult, right? Belly dancing has always looked so complicated, with those wigglin' tummies and stuff. And then what about the oral part of the project? To top it all off, what if Miss Fowl disapproves of it, or makes us wear other costumes? Then where's your perfect idea?"

"You heard Natesa, and it sounds like that between her and her mother, we've got more information than we could possibly imagine, so the oral part is covered as far as I'm concerned," Cindy whispered back, her eyes locked onto her best friend. "And if you're so worried about it, we'll go first thing tomorrow morning and talk to Miss Fowl about it."

After a few moments and another look, Libby finally sighed. "All right, all right, we'll do this!"

"YES!"

* * *

So Cindy now has her perfect plan to beat Jimmy. But will it go off as planned? Or will she fail miserably? Tune in to the next chapter, and find out… 


	3. Almost Project Time

Hello there again! Sorry it's taking so long between updates… school has started again in full swing and I am at the mercy of homework. Let's hope I start updating more regularily, huh? Oh, and I don't own Jimmy Neutron. So don't sue and enjoy the story!

_To Cross the Rubicon_

By: pottergal

Chapter Three: Almost Project Time…

One Month Later

Jimmy raced down the street leading to his school, his mind running the mental chant of the White Rabbit from _Alice in Wonderland_ as well as cursing his short legs. It wasn't the first time he'd been forced to run to school, but this was different. It was the first time that he was two hours late for class.

He'd been up late the night before modifying the Virtua Chef, which needed to be perfect for the coming weekend as his parents were going on vacation and leaving him with Granny Neutron. The reason for the Virtua Chef was clear, as on top of driving him crazy with her stories, his grandmother couldn't cook to save her life. The last time she'd tried, she'd not only managed to set the kitchen on fire, but she'd also added all the wrong ingredients. Her beef burgundy had somehow been made with motor oil and her salad contained hard chunks that looked suspiciously like wood from the cutting board. Jimmy had reasoned that if her cooking was getting better over time, it was a miracle his father made it past childhood.

Jimmy had managed to salvage that particular evening by discreetly ordering pizza and had made it look as though he'd baked it. Granny hadn't realized that it would've been impossible, as the oven had mysteriously imploded, and the weekend had passed without further incident. Of course, his mother had promptly fainted upon seeing her kitchen, and the reconstruction crews had brought many curious neighbors, eager for some information. Oddly enough, Jimmy could still remember Cindy's face upon seeing the damage.

"I thought I heard an explosion last night," she'd said, as she'd wandered over and knocked on their door when another large truck had pulled up in front of Jimmy's house. "Those coming from your house are a common occurrence, but the truck that showed up this morning isn't. So here I am, snooping."

Jimmy had explained to her what had happened as they'd walked through the house to the kitchen, and also told her that the truck was for the workmen, who would be in and out for the next couple of weeks, remodeling their kitchen. It was then that Jimmy discovered that Cindy had thought they were moving.

"I thought the damage you'd done had finally been enough to get you kicked out of town. Plus my mom sent me over to check it out," Cindy had explained, kicking the melted oven absently. "I take it that this was your grandmother's doing?"

"Yeah, don't ask me what she did," Jimmy had said, sitting down on the remains of the breakfast nook. "Normal fires rarely cause that kind of damage, so I think they've lined up some kind of special team to look into it."

"Maybe she got hold of something from your lab," Cindy had suggested, making Jimmy blink. "I'm sure you've got plenty of stuff in there that could easily melt an oven."

"Thanks for the idea. I'll have Goddard run a scan in a few minutes," he'd said, wincing inwardly. If the team found any kind of strange chemicals, they'd want to know where they'd come from, and then Jimmy would have to tell them about his lab. He really didn't want to do that, which was why he supposed it was lucky that he normally tried to use materials that were easily accessible.

"No problem," Cindy had said, her eyes trailing over the burnt ceiling before landing on him. "I guess it's kind of funny. This isn't the first time that a massive amount of damage has been done to your house, but for once it's not you who's the culprit." She'd smiled a little as she spoke, making Jimmy blink a second time. "Anyway, I've got to get back. We were in the middle of breakfast." And with a small wave, she'd left.

Jimmy frowned as the ringing of a late bell broke him from his reverie. Why that particular event with Cindy had popped into his head was a mystery in itself, and he supposed that she was going to have a few choice things to say to him this morning. Especially about his appearance…

Staying up late really did have some rather unfortunate drawbacks. Not only was he dressed in the rumpled clothes from yesterday, but also he'd been in such a rush this morning that he hadn't taken the time to fix his hair. He'd barely had enough time to throw all of his school things together, let alone address how bad he looked. Last night he'd somehow managed to electrocute himself; it wasn't enough to kill him, thank heavens, but it was enough to singe his finger and send his hair into an electrostatic puffball. One look in the windows on the doors told him that it had subsided into a sort of shaggy mop, but he had no time to lose. He tore open the doors, raced down the hall, slid to a halt before his classroom, and nearly threw himself inside.

"A-a-a-a-h, Jimmy, there you are."

Miss Fowl's croaking voice greeted him upon entry, but he remained silent as he walked up to her desk and handed her a note that his mother had graciously taken the time to write. It explained that Jimmy had overslept due to a power failure the night before that had knocked out all of their clocks. He hoped that the reason for the power failure wasn't mentioned, and knowing his mother, she'd probably be able to quickly deduce that it had been him.

"A-a-a-a-awrk, it se-e-e-e-ms that everything is in order," Miss Fowl said as Jimmy struggled to regain his breath. He supposed that he could've asked his mother for a ride, but he'd thought that he'd be able to use his hover car. Unfortunately, it was undergoing a set of needed overhauls, leaving him with no other option than to run.

"You can take your se-e-e-e-eat now, Jimmy."

"Thanks," he said as he turned and blinked when he saw that Cindy's desk was empty. She never missed class…

"Hey, Jim," Carl whispered to him as he collapsed into his chair, setting his backpack beside him. "What happened? Why are you so late?"

"I overslept," Jimmy explained in hushed tones as he ran his fingers through his hair, trying to work out some of the knots that had formed. "I caused a nasty power surge last night that not only electrocuted me, but it also blew some fuses in our house. Therefore, none of the alarm clocks went off this morning because they'd all been reset to twelve AM."

"Oh," Carl said, blinking a little as he mulled over what Jimmy had told him. "So all your clocks were flashing twelve-o-clock over and over?"

"Exactly," Jimmy said, rummaging through his backpack for some paper and his pencil. "Because that's what happens when the power comes back on. Vox was shut down when I woke up and I had to do some rewiring before I could reboot the system and figure out what time it was. Plus I can't easily get out of the lab if Vox is turned off."

"Oh," Carl said again, and the loud banging of the classroom door made everyone jump in surprise.

"I'm here!"

Jimmy couldn't help raise his eyebrows at the sight of a rather winded Cindy Vortex, who looked just about as bad as he did. Her hair was up in a rather messy bun, and her eyes were wide with adrenaline. Her clothes were wrinkled, and not only did she have her backpack, but she also had at least five oversized shopping bags with her.

"I'm so sorry that I'm late, Miss Fowl," Cindy said hastily as she hurried over to their teacher's desk. "My mom wrote me a note; just let me find it. The power was out last night so none of our alarms went off. It didn't help that I needed to get up early to put the finishing touches on our project…" Cindy said in rapid succession as she dropped everything and began to tear through her backpack, tossing her notebooks aside and her pencils rolling away.

"Here, lemme help," Libby said, her voice containing a soothing note that she normally used when Cindy was as flustered as she was at the moment. Jimmy stopped a couple of Cindy's pencils with his foot as Libby began to calmly search through the things Cindy had lugged with her.

"Tha-a-a-a-at's all right, you two-o-o-o," Miss Fowl said, waving her hands a little in dismissal. "Cindy, just put your things in the co-o-o-orner and take your se-e-e-eat. Jimmy also just arrived, and since you two li-i-i-i-i-ive close to each other, I assume it was the same thing that ha-a-a-a-a-ppened."

"Oh," Cindy said and began to throw things back into her backpack while Libby began to cart the shopping bags into the back corner. Mildly curious, Jimmy turned to see a rather large amount of bags piled there, and he frowned. Was all that for their project?

"Neutron, you're standing on my pencils." Cindy's snap made him jerk a little in surprise and he turned to see her glaring at him.

"Sorry," he said, now frowning inwardly. What in the good name of Albert Einstein had they been planning? He'd tried asking Libby earlier in the month when National Geographic had called them back for another set of interviews, but she'd remained oddly quiet on the subject, leaving Jimmy to assume that Cindy's wrath was more than enough to keep her silent.

_Though I'm sure the pact she made with me didn't last long,_ he thought somewhat bitterly as he lifted his foot and returned the pencils to Cindy. _Girls sure do have some funny ideas about loyalty..._

"When will we be presenting our project, Miss Fowl?" Cindy asked over her shoulder as she took the pencils from Jimmy and claimed her seat. "Will it be after lunch?"

"Yes, Cindy," Miss Fowl said as she stood, opening one of her books and taking a piece of chalk from the tray. Jimmy could see the relief that appeared on Cindy's face at her answer; she seemed to slump against her chair as her tension abated.

"Why so worried?" he whispered to her, lifting an eyebrow in question. "Afraid your little project won't beat mine?" Her eyes sparked at that and she gave him a look of unmistakable contemptuous pity.

"After the class sees what we've cooked up, Nerdtron…" she began, laughing a little and shaking her head. "Your little pseudo action movie about our harrowing escape from that tomb will seem like some distant dream. National Geographic won't save you now, Neutron; my project's cool factor will easily outweigh any points you may have gained through national attention and that state of the art surround sound system."

"You wish, Vortex," he said, rolling his eyes, and she glared at him.

"You haven't seen it yet," she said testily, her gaze narrowing steadily. "And I guarantee that it will knock that smug little smirk right off your face. Don't go thinking you've won."

"I do not smirk! I smile, or grin."

"I don't know what your definition of those two terms is, but what I call your 'grin' is definitely more of an egotistical little smirk!"

"And I certainly am NOT egotistical! Where on this carbon based planet did you get that idea?!" he shot back, leaping to his feet in anger.

"Oh, I don't know…" she began, looking down at her nails and feigning indifference. "Maybe from the years that I've known you?!"

"Name ONE incident!"

"How about I name each and every single time you've shown off in class?!"

"Oh, and YOU aren't guilty of that either?! Shall I remind you of each time you've tried to outdo me?! That makes you just as self-important, if not MORE SO than me!"

"Ha! Dream on!"

"Well, if I'm egotistical, then YOU are the vainest person on the planet! But you haven't got a clue about true beauty, because you're the most badly dressed girl in school!"

"Do I look vain right now? I'm a mess!" she snapped, gesturing to her clothes. "And you aren't much better, with your shaggy hair and rumpled clothes. What happened? Did you forget how to make that ridiculous hairstyle of yours?"

"Children!" Miss Fowl's bark made both of them jump and they turned to her somewhat sheepishly. "If the two-o-o-o-o of you are through heaping insults on each other, awrk, I'd like to sta-a-a-a-a-art this lesson!"

"Yes, Miss Fowl," the two of them said in unison, and after sending each other twin glares, they took their seats.

"Now as you know, tomorrow is Friday, which is our usual spelling test day," Miss Fowl said, turning her back on the class to write several new spelling words on the chalkboard. As he copied them down, he could see Cindy and Libby discreetly passing notes back and forth, and either Miss Fowl was letting it slide today, or she really just hadn't noticed. Jimmy rolled his eyes a little when Cindy glanced at him and giggled, telling him that they were engaged in one of their favorite past times: insulting him.

"Hey Neutron," Cindy hissed and he looked at her darkly.

"And what do you want?"

"Libby says that you should keep your hair like this because it makes your head look smaller," she said with another giggle, but this time she was joined by Libby. Jimmy glared at both of them, which only made their giggling grow worse, and he turned back to the spelling lesson.

"Hey, Jimmy," Carl whispered and he looked to his right. "If it helps, I like your old hairstyle better. It reminds me of a very rare llama because it has hair just like yours," Carl continued, swooning blissfully at the thought of said llama. Jimmy stared at his best friend for a moment before giving him a weak smile.

"Thanks, I think," he whispered and felt Sheen poke him from behind.

"Don't listen to that sooth-ful she-hellion," he said as he reached out and tugged on a lock of Jimmy's hair. "I want your old hairstyle back too. It hides me from Miss Fowl's ever scrolling eye, which searches the class for helpless students for her to call on and torture."

"SHEEN!"

Both Jimmy and Sheen winced at Miss Fowl's shout and the two boys shared a knowing look.

"See?" Sheen said before turning his attention to their teacher. "Yes, Miss Fowl, oh great and luxurious giver of learning?"

"That's lustrous, not luxurious!" Jimmy hissed to him, and Sheen shrugged, too oblivious to be embarrassed.

"Unless you two ha-a-a-a-ave something to share with the class, a-a-a-awrk, please pay attention!" Miss Fowl said, ignoring Sheen's comment, and the two of them looked away before falling silent. Jimmy sighed as he glanced up at the clock; it was only ten thirty, which meant that there was a good hour before their lunch break.

And it couldn't come soon enough…

* * *

And there you have it, another chapter. I know, I know, this is mostly filler, but I hope it's fun filler. I wanted to do some stuff with Jimmy before Cindy's project, to prove that he's hopefully not as out of character as I think. Oh well… Stay tuned for the next chapter! 


	4. Preparations

Wah! I'm so sorry to all my reviewers for taking so DANG long to update. School is being the biggest pain right now (I would use something much more colorful, but being that this is a G rated thing… or is it PG? Anyway, I'm sure that it would highly offend quite a few people.) So if you're still reading this, onward!

Standard disclaimer still applies. I don't own JN… (though the revenue I'm sure it generates would be pretty nice right now…)

_To Cross the Rubicon_  
By: pottergal

Chapter Four: Preparations

Cindy sighed contentedly as Libby ran a brush through her hair, ridding it of the snarls and overall rat's nest look she'd gained in her rush to get out the door this morning. Natesa was painting Cindy's nails a dark shade of shimmering green and Nissa was selecting out the proper shades of eye shadow for everyone. Libby was going to need a faint shade of lavender, as her costume was that color, Natesa was going to need dark blue, and Cindy was going to need green.

"How's that?"

Cindy looked down at Natesa, who'd just put the finishing touches on her toenails. Cindy wiggled her toes, watching the nail polish shine in the light, and she grinned.

"It looks perfect," she said and Natesa returned her smile as she capped the polish. "Thanks again, everyone, for doing this. I feel like a princess."

"I warned you about working too hard," Libby said as she took a clip carefully from Cindy, whose fingernails weren't quite dry yet, and started to pin back Cindy's bangs. "You just get so caught up in everything that you start forgettin stuff. You were supposed to do this last night, weren't you?"

"I can't exactly do my hair the night before," Cindy said, feeling slightly stung. So what if she'd been working extra hard on their project? Natesa and Nissa had been working on the costumes, so she and Libby had agreed to work on the presentation. She'd been up late last night putting the finishing touches on the design, to make sure it looked perfect, and Libby was complaining?

"Could I have that mirror, Nissa?" Libby called, ignoring Cindy's comment. "I need to know if this looks okay."

"Sure," the girl said, bringing over the mirror as well as three little compacts. "And I found three different shades of green, Cindy, so you'll need to pick one." She handed over one, which Cindy opened carefully before shaking her head.

"This one is too dark," she said, taking the next one. "This one is better, but let me see the last one before I decide." She opened the final compact and frowned. "Well, I still think the second one will look best. Thanks, Nissa."

"No problem," she said with a smile. "I'm just glad I'm not one of the dancers; I have no bodily coordination at all."

"You can jump rope fine," Cindy said and Nissa smiled.

"But jumping rope is completely different from dancing, and trust me. I never would've learned the routine you guys cooked up," she said as she began laying out the makeup for everyone. "It looks excellent, by the way. I know Mrs. Ojufemi was deeply impressed by how fast you picked up the steps."

"She was a great teacher," Cindy said, giving Natesa a grin, who promptly blushed. "It helped that it was fun."

"Maybe for you," Libby said as she handed Cindy the mirror so she could see what Libby had done. "But I wasn't exactly happy with the gauntlet you had us running. Dance practice Monday, Wednesday, Friday, _and_ Saturday, and _then_ making us whip together that oral presentation! I thought I was going to collapse from the stress!"

"I just wanted this to be perfect," Cindy said, frowning up at her best friend. "You know my quirks; I couldn't help it."

"Cindy, this was a level you've never been at before," Libby said as she walked over to the remaining bags and began to fish out several large pieces of fabric. "So are you going to see this thing through? All three of us nearly flipped when you didn't show this morning."

"I said I was sorry, all right? It wasn't really my fault," Cindy said as she stood to help. "I can't control power surges."

They were currently on their lunch break and they'd kicked everyone from the classroom before drawing the blinds so they could decorate in peace. Nissa had been able to wrangle tons of spare cloth from her mother's sewing store, and they'd already used some of it to cover the blackboard and walls. Natesa was now draping it from the ceiling with Libby's help, and Cindy set about lighting the incense.

"Uh, Carl isn't going to have an allergy attack to that, is he?" Libby asked, balancing carefully on a desk while holding up a section of cloth as Natesa stapled it several times to secure it.

"Don't worry, I took some over to his house and burned it in his room," she said and Libby gave her a look which was a mixture of surprise and disbelief. "Yes, it was with his permission, and no, he didn't have an attack. The lady who sold it to me assured me that it wouldn't affect people with asthma, and it turned out to be true."

"And it certainly smells good," Nissa said as she handed Libby and Natesa more cloth. "We're almost done guys, and then we can change in the bathroom. I've made sure that no one will be in there."

"Cool," Cindy said as she began to move desks to the perimeter of the room. They needed as much space as possible for this. "Do you think we should just stack the desks in a corner and then put down all those pillows Nissa brought? I think it might actually work better that way."

"No, I don't think so," Libby said as she hopped down and dusted off her hands. "I think it would give us less space." Cindy frowned as she worked to visualize the layout. "We'll find some other way to use Nissa's pillows, because she didn't bring too many."

"Maybe we should set them aside for us to sit on, once we've finished the dance," Natesa said as she joined Libby on the ground, tossing her braid over her shoulder when she landed. "And we should head to the bathroom now; we only have twenty minutes before everyone is due back." Cindy nodded as Nissa threw the pillows she'd brought behind Miss Fowl's desk, and the four of them scooped up the last of the shopping bags.

"Let's go."

* * *

Cindy couldn't help smirking at the crooked sign taped up on the bathroom door as they entered; it read "Out of Order" in big, bold letters. When questioned about it, Nissa assured them that she'd cleared it with the janitors, who actually seemed to find it rather funny. 

After sorting out their respective costumes, the four of them changed quickly, and the rush of nerves gave them random giggle fits. Nissa was the first done, as her costume was the least complicated and she wasn't wearing makeup. After tying her hair up and grinning at all of them, she peeked outside.

"Is it clear?" Natesa asked and Nissa nodded. "Then go! We'll see you in a little bit!"

"Okay! And don't worry, everything is going to go fine!" she called before vanishing, leaving the three dancers to put the finishing touches on their appearance. Libby and Natesa were doing their makeup in the mirror while Cindy finished putting on her jewelry.

Cindy had to admit that Nissa and Natesa had done a superb job on the costumes; they were so well done that they looked professional. All three were done in the same style as Natesa's original costume, but instead of spandex shorts, they each wore leggings, and each was a different color. Each also wore different style jewelry, even if they were essentially the same pieces. Cindy had elected silver-based ones, just like Natesa, but Libby wore gold.

_My hands... they're shaking,_ Cindy thought in amazement as she failed in clasping her left ankle bracelet. She'd managed to get the right one just fine, but as the time for their presentation drew closer, her nervousness grew.

"Cindy?" Libby asked and she looked up. "You okay? You're kinda pale."

"Fine, just nervous," she said, laughing a little. "It's funny, isn't it? I don't think I've ever been this anxious over a project presentation before," she continued, trying again to clasp the bracelet.

"Come on, girl, focus," Libby said, her bare feet padding quietly against the tile as she walked over. "Sure, there's a lot that can go wrong, but there's a lot that can go right too. So keep your head and we'll trounce Jimmy."

"Thanks," Cindy said with a small smile, finally clasping the bracelet and straightening. "I put your jewelry in that bag over there," she said, pointing. "Where'd you put the makeup?"

"Natesa has it," Libby said as she began to dig through the bag. Cindy, in the meantime, applied her makeup, with Natesa helping her every so often. It was nice to have her help, as Cindy had problems applying her eye shadow evenly.

Once completely finished, the three of them surveyed themselves in the mirror, nodding appreciatively at the change. Natesa was looking over everyone's costume, straightening jewelry and so forth, occasionally tossing her hair over her shoulder. She'd taken it from its braid for the performance.

"Cindy?"

Natesa's frightened tone made her turn to the girl in surprise, and Cindy found Natesa staring at her in shock.

"What is it? What's wrong?"

"Where'd you get that necklace? Did my mother actually let you take that?" Natesa asked, her voice wavering, and Cindy frowned before looking down. It was a rather beautiful piece, and she remembered being drawn to it instantly. It consisted of a widened v-shape charm that was made up of dozens of curving, interwoven tendrils of silver. At the center of the base of the v sat a green oval gem that shone brightly in the light. The two ends of the v had little hooks that attached to the silver chain, and the charm hung just below the hallow in her throat.

"Yes," Cindy said, frowning slightly in confusion. "I asked her about it, and she told me about the curse that was supposedly placed on it, but she also told me not to worry about it. She said she'd worn it before and nothing had happened." Natesa opened her mouth to argue, and her frown deepened before she spoke.

"I guess she was just teasing me then," she said, her expression taking on a slight pout. "She never lets me wear that piece, and I suppose that curse was her way of making me stop asking."

A knock on the door prevented Cindy from responding and all three of them jumped.

"Are you guys ready?" Nissa called through the closed door. "I'm going to start the oral part of the presentation now, so you need to be done soon!"

"All right!" Libby called back. "We'll be there in a few minutes! Natesa, where are the cloaks?"

"I put them over there," she said, pointing at a stall. Cindy turned to see them hanging over the door and she grabbed the closest one.

"Now be careful not to snag any of your jewelry on the material," Natesa warned as they wrapped themselves in the cloaks and checked to make sure that their faces were hidden. Libby started giggling when Cindy poked her head out of the bathroom door, looking up and down the quiet hall for any stragglers.

"We look like fugitives," Libby whispered as Cindy turned to them and gestured for them to come.

"Quiet now, we can't go disturbing classes," she whispered as they crept from the bathroom and made a beeline for the outside of their classroom. After huddling against the lockers for a moment, they quickly realized they were out of order. Getting in the proper order quietly was difficult, what with all their jangling jewelry, but they figured any stray noise was hidden under Nissa's voice.

"When will we know to enter? Did Nissa forget to prop open the door?" Natesa hissed in Cindy's ear, who was in front of her. Cindy then poked Libby, who turned to her and frowned.

"What's going on?" she half whispered, half mouthed, and Libby turned to listen at the crack.

"Nissa's about halfway through," she whispered over her shoulder and Cindy nodded, feeling her nervousness return. "We don't enter until she says the part about 'a special treat', right?"

Cindy nodded, and Libby turned back to the door, listening intently. As she waited for the signal, Cindy ran through some of her Tai Chi breathing exercises, determined to restore some of her composure. She prided herself on her speaking abilities, and dancing shouldn't be any different.

"Okay, that was it," Libby said quietly as she straightened, and opened the door to the sound of applause. "Good luck, you guys!"

"Here we go!"

* * *

Okay, so it's a bad cliffhanger and I know it's short. Stay with me, we're almost there. I would continue this, but I've got a ton that I want to do with the dance part and if I don't stop here, it'll go on forever. So I'm sorry if it's on the short side, and stay tuned for the next chapter when Cindy and co. present the dance! I swear it'll be up faster this time! 


	5. A Dance to Beat All?

HA! How's this for updating sooner? I told you I'd try my hardest, and with the lull between midterms I was able to get this chapter out pretty quickly. It helped that I knew pretty much exactly what I wanted to do… Anyway, a HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who has reviewed; you keep me from giving up hope on this story, which I have been pretty close to doing. But if everyone likes it so much, then I have no excuse to stop writing it, right?

Well, standard disclaimer still applies, unfortunately. (pottergal heaves a big sigh) Now on with the show!

_To Cross the Rubicon_  
By: pottergal

Chapter Five: A Dance to Beat All?

Jimmy stared open-mouthed at the classroom he'd just entered, part of him refusing to accept that he was in the right room. The place he'd known had vanished, with the shimmering dark blue and purple material covering the walls and the chalkboard. All of the desks had been shoved to the perimeter of the room, lining the back and two sides of the class. The drapes had been drawn shut for the most part and perhaps a dozen long pieces of material identical to the ones on the walls had been strung across the ceiling like streamers. Golden rope and tassels also graced the walls, accenting the material, and Miss Fowl's chair was covered with pillows.

"Oh, it's Cindy's incense!" Carl said as he entered beside Jimmy, identifying the strange smell that had pervaded the room. He'd been wondering about the unfamiliar light, cinnamon-wood fragrance and what had caused it.

"She asked me if I would try some out for her because her dad has a really sensitive nose," Carl continued and Jimmy turned to stare at his friend. "I thought that it would make me sick, but I wound up liking it so much that I bought a few sticks off her!"

"When was this?" Jimmy asked, hardly daring to believe that Carl had managed to keep this event from him.

"Oh, some time this month, I suppose. She made me promise not to tell anyone," Carl added and Jimmy turned around glumly. "She said it was for a super secret project that she was working on at home, and she said that if I told anyone before the month was over, she'd know and then she'd come kick my butt."

"Oh," Jimmy said before making his way to one of the desks lining the back wall with Carl in tow.

"I'm sorry, Jim, I would've told you and stuff," Carl said as the two of them sat down. "But you know how I am with pain and torture. It scares me as much as Cindy does."

"It's okay, Carl," Jimmy said with a sigh, resting his chin in his hands. "I'm just upset because I spent all month trying to figure out what Cindy was up to, and I came up with nothing. Every time I came close to finding out, something would happen. Sometimes I think she has eyes in the back of her head."

"Or a powerful intuitive sense that could rival Ultralord's natural ability to sense the three D's," Sheen said as he took a seat beside Jimmy, fiddling with the arm on his latest Ultralord action figure.

"Uh, I probably shouldn't ask, but what're the three D's?" Carl asked, his voice holding a slight tremor of fear.

"Death, destruction, and despair," Sheen said before pausing and frowning.

"I shouldn't have asked!" Carl wailed, clasping his hands over his ears.

"Or is it dedication, daring, and do-good ability?" Sheen continued, oblivious to Carl as he thought. "Or maybe it's destruction, despair, and doom… dang it! How could I forget something as important as the three D's?"

Jimmy blinked when the final lunch bell rang, signaling the start of class. He looked up to find that everyone had entered, save Nissa, Natesa, Cindy, and Libby, of course, and Miss Fowl was taking afternoon roll.

"Hey, Jimmy," Carl whispered as he leaned over while looking around. "We're missing people, aren't we?"

"Yeah, I think they're waiting to come in," Jimmy whispered back, and right after he finished talking, Nissa entered, carrying a large shopping bag. She smiled at everyone as she set a small stereo on a chair by the door and plugged it in.

"I hope you will forgive waiting just one more minute," she said as she unrolled several large pieces of poster paper and tacked them to the cloth on the chalkboard. "As you can see, we're a tad behind schedule; decorating took longer than we'd planned." She then bowed slightly to the class and turned to Miss Fowl.

"I'll go see if the others are ready," she said as Miss Fowl tossed off most of the pillows that had been placed on her chair. "I'll be right back," Nissa said before making another bow and vanishing out the door.

_Well, they've certainly made me curious,_ Jimmy thought as he worked over the costume Nissa had been wearing. She'd been dressed in a loose pair of pants that sat low on her hips and synched around her ankles, and her top exposed most of her midriff; he had to wonder if she'd forgotten about the dress code that they had. The sleeves had gone to her elbows and flowed like her pants did, and all the material was a dark purple.

"She looked like an alien princess from the planet Nabrual," Sheen said, his eyes wide. "They were in episode 235, when Ultralord crash-landed on their planet and nearly became one of their many husbands. It was possibly the scariest episode ever!"

"Why?" Jimmy asked and Sheen shuddered for a moment before continuing.

"The women just kept chasing him, trying to get him to marry one of them, but in truth they were trying to keep him away from the planet's deadly super weapon, which he'd been sent to destroy," Sheen said in hushed tones, and Jimmy heard Carl whimper in fear. "He was finally saved by Ultralady, who had gone undercover as one of the princesses, and together they blew up the super weapon."

"What's so scary about being chased by a bunch of women?" Jimmy asked, unable to keep the small frown from his face.

"Have you ever been chased by a blood-thirsty mob of Nabrulian princesses, all of whom are trying to hug you and squeeze you and… kiss you?" Sheen said and Carl gave a small wail before ducking under his desk.

"Well no…" Jimmy began.

"Then I suggest you refrain from passing judgment upon the situation until you've experienced how terrifying it can be," Sheen said, his tone haughty, and he crossed his arms over his chest.

"I was chased by a bunch of my girl cousins once, Jim, and it really was terrifying," Carl said from his position beneath his desk, and Jimmy leaned over to look at him. "They kept trying to dress me up like one of them and put makeup and perfume on me. They did manage to catch me, but when they tried put the perfume on, I swelled up like a balloon because I was allergic. It was awful…"

"The perfume or the swelling?"

"Both…"

"All right, class, a-a-a-awrk," Miss Fowl said, calling for their attention. Jimmy noticed that Nissa had returned without them realizing, and she stood off to the side, waiting patiently.

"Nissa will no-o-o-o-ow present the oral pa-a-a-art of her group's presentation, so pa-a-a-ay attention!"

Nissa stepped forward just as Miss Fowl finished speaking and took another small bow before beginning to speak.

"It's a little known fact that one of the roots of belly dancing is in Egypt, which dates back hundreds of years," she began, and Jimmy blinked. It was? "The French, who were one of the first groups of Europeans to visit Egypt, didn't know what to make of belly dancing when they first saw it, as it was so very foreign. Some say that's how belly dancing got its name, because the French thought the dance was done mostly with the upper torso."

_That explains the costume and the decorations, I guess,_ Jimmy thought, resting his chin in his hand. But then where were the others? Why hadn't they entered yet?

"Cool!" Jimmy heard someone whisper and felt a small pang of dread echo within him. This couldn't be their entire project, he decided; otherwise everyone would be front and center, talking. And why had they moved the desks to the sides? Did they need floor space, or something?

That thought made him blink inwardly and he unconsciously sat up straighter. If they had up their sleeves what he thought they had, and if people were impressed by this pitiful display of marker and poster paper…

"However, this is incorrect, as most belly dancing is done with the hips. It may look like the upper torso, but that is a mental trick as dancers tend to accentuate that area through their movements," Nissa continued, pointing to a few of her diagrams. "There's another theory that the name of the belly dance came from a perversion of the word 'beladi', which is the basic essential rhythm of the dance and is based around four counts."

At that, Nissa pulled out a small drum from the bag, and sitting on another chair, she began to beat out the rhythm.

_Doom doom tika tak doom tika tak tik doom doom tika tak doom taka tik!_

Nissa repeated the sounds a few more times, and Jimmy could see a few people tapping along on their desks. When she stopped, appreciative applause broke out.

_If something doesn't go painfully wrong, I'm going to lose,_ he thought with a small gulp, failing to hear the rest of Nissa's speech as part of him was trying to desperately to think of a way to save himself and his dignity.

As much as he might want to, he couldn't interfere, as Cindy hadn't sabotaged his project and it had gone off perfectly for once. The sound system had delivered such intense surround sound that some people swore they felt like they were inside the tomb, with footsteps echoing eerily, and someone was positive that they'd heard a rat squeak. That coupled with the complete projection machine he'd whipped up, which presented picture on the walls, ceiling, and floor… someone (probably Carl) had actually thrown up when they'd started racing through the underground passages.

_I can't do anything besides hope she messes up somehow,_ Jimmy thought anxiously as Nissa concluded the oral presentation with yet another small bow.

"And now as a special treat for being so patient with us…" Nissa said, looking to the door, which seemed to swing open of its own accord, and three cloaked figures entered slowly. Jimmy could hear a strange, shimmering sound, and was forced to assume that it was coming from them. He couldn't see which person was which, as they were entirely covered by the cloaks from their hooded heads to their hidden feet.

"Natesa Ojufemi, Libby Folfax, Nissa Snyder, and Cindy Vortex proudly present an example of Egyptian belly dance," all four girls chorused, and Nissa pressed play on the stereo. A kind of eager anticipation filled the air as people straightened in their desks and Jimmy could hear the CD player slowly gearing up. Unconsciously he moved to the edge of his seat, both curious for what he was about to see and terrified that it was going to be excellent.

The music finally started, a slow familiar drum beat filling the air, and the three figures twirled in unison, their cloaks fanning outwards slightly but not revealing the person beneath it. They swayed as a reedy pipe joined the drum, the shimmering sound coming again and telling Jimmy that he'd been right in his assumption about the source. The melody peaked and dipped slowly, and the figures mirrored the sounds, swaying and twisting gently until the music paused. They stopped moving, appearing to be frozen, and the class seemed to hold its breath, waiting on tenterhooks for them to continue.

Just as Jimmy was starting to think (and hope) that something had gone wrong with the stereo, and that perhaps they weren't going to go on, the drum returned, the familiar rhythm much faster this time. The girls threw off their cloaks and the class gasped. Even Jimmy couldn't help it; he certainly hadn't expected them to look as… as _exotic_ as they did.

The girls smiled brightly as the pipe returned, playing a complicated melody, and they turned so that their left sides faced the back wall, their hips rocking from side to side in time with the beat. Jimmy could see little flashes as light reflected from the small, dangling disks attached to the chain around each girl's stomach, and each time their hips moved, the disks would clink together, creating that shimmering sound he'd been hearing.

A string instrument joined in with the others and the girls began to move. With every other dip of a hip, they'd kick outwards, while their hands moved to accent their actions. Then they spun, so that their opposite side faced the back wall, and the move was repeated. They then turned slightly and stepped forward, their back leg kicking to the side behind them, and then stepped back before pivoting to the side. This they continued in a circle, their arms moving gracefully from side to side.

Natesa suddenly let out a trill, which made most of the class jump, and Cindy and Libby answered with twin shouts before all three clapped their hands together. They began gliding forward then, coming towards the back of the room, their hips swaying gracefully. Jimmy could feel himself leaning back as the three of them finally stopped moving towards him, but they began beating their bare heels against the floor, their hips moving in a smooth circle.

This time it was Libby who let out a sound that seemed more like a yelp than a shout, and Cindy and Natesa answered before all three clapped their hands twice in unison. They then began to glide backwards, using the same gentle sway that had brought them forwards, and stopped once they reached the middle of the room. They spun in a slow circle, their hands trailing after them flowingly, and once they faced the back wall, they brought them together in a resounding clap that made Jimmy jump again.

_I can't believe this is happening,_ he thought, feeling his eyes widen in shock as he watched the three girls continue their graceful, hypnotic dance. _I was so certain that I'd won, that Cindy couldn't possibly think of something more impressive..._

Maybe Cindy had realized his distress, or had developed some way to sense when someone was thinking about her, as she chose that moment to look up at him. Her green eyes locked onto him like some kind of powerful tractor beam and held him faster than any modern adhesive. He almost couldn't believe that the girl dancing was the same Cindy; her long hair was out of its usual ponytail, and instead was secured with two silver clips to keep it from falling in her face. She spun again and he watched it dance about her playfully, bouncing as she moved. It was a nice change, he had to admit…

He watched as her smile deepened somehow, her eyes lighting up, and he decided that she had to be wearing makeup. Her features were much more accentuated than usual: her lips were redder, her cheeks were rosier, and her eyes seemed to sparkle with delight. Where had this Cindy come from, he wondered, and why hadn't she come out before this?

_The only reason she's like this is because she knows she's going to win,_ part of him thought bitterly, but the other part was silently memorizing every move she made, each spin, each sway, each gesture, with his characteristically agonizing precision. He couldn't believe how entranced he was by something as simple as a dance…

But it wasn't just a dance. It was something more, something he couldn't quite explain. It was grace and joy and beauty… he heard a soft sigh escape him. Leaping leptons, was it beautiful.

_AH! What am I thinking?_ He jerked upright, struggling to force the thoughts of Cindy and her dance from his mind, but failing miserably. _Maybe it's the incense, maybe that's why I feel so strange and irrational, _he reasoned, trying to keep from slapping himself. Sure, it would probably wake him up, but it would also attract unwanted attention.

_I'll have to pilfer some after class, if it hasn't all burned away. Maybe I could take a sample of the ash back to the lab for analysis._

He looked back at Cindy suspiciously to find her smiling at him, and the feeling returned in full force. He collapsed against his chair, the mesmerizing elegance of the dance making him forget about the incense and his theory that it had been laced with some hypnotic chemical…

_Accelerated heart rate, flushed face, tightness in the chest area... what is wrong with me?_ he thought as Cindy spun again and the three girls lifted their hands to the ceiling, the music crescendoing dramatically. _This can't be a normal response to a dance. It just can't be. Cindy must've done something, but how to prove it? Think!_

But he couldn't. The incense had suddenly become heady, making his mind feel as though it had been stuffed with cotton, and all he saw was Cindy, dancing and swaying with the music. He tried his hardest not to stare, but he couldn't help it. She was utterly captivating; her lips curved in a soft smile and her green eyes seemed to be focused solely on him, keeping him rooted to the spot.

_Must... think... focus...!_

He watched as she extended a hand, seeming to call him forwards, and he felt like he was falling, drowning in green…

A loud clap from the dancers made him jerk and he shook his head repeatedly, the fog finally clearing. He rubbed his eyes before tentatively looking back up at Cindy, whose smile seemed forced now, and he frowned. What had just happened? Had she felt those weird sensations? Did she feel as shaky and weak as he did?

He watched absently as the girls punctuated their sways with the beat, his mind preoccupied with what had just taken place. Never in his life had he ever felt so… so… out of control of his actions. Maybe he was going to lose his better judgment to age and hormones, but he'd always assumed that he'd at least be able to retain command over his bodily functions…

_I need to run some tests, that's all. I need to find out what Cindy put in that incense,_ he thought as the girls spun before clapping their hands three times in unison and then the music ended abruptly. At first Jimmy thought something had gone wrong with the stereo, but then he realized that the dance was over and that everyone in the class was on their feet, applauding and cheering wildly. All three girls giggled and grinned before bowing repeatedly.

"Whoa, did you see that, Jimmy? That was incredible!" Carl exclaimed, and Jimmy folded his arms over his chest in a bitter huff.

"I was trying not to," he muttered halfheartedly.

"Oh man, if that's what those Nabrulian princesses did to welcome guests, I'd become one of their life mates forever!" Sheen exclaimed over the cheering and Jimmy stared at him.

Finally Cindy stepped forward to speak and Jimmy sank into his chair, preparing himself for the worst. Here it came, the gloating and the start of his month of gender confusion and total embarrassment…

"Thank you, everyone," she said, her voice brimming with the joy present on her face. "I'm glad you enjoyed this, and I thought I should let you know that if any of you are interested in taking up belly dancing, talk to Natesa. Her mom was the one who choreographed the dance you just saw, and she teaches regular lessons." Jimmy watched as Natesa blushed brilliantly in obvious embarrassment, and the class broke into applause again.

Miss Fowl stood to give further instructions, but the class largely ignored her as they grouped around Natesa, Libby, and Cindy, asking questions a mile a minute. Jimmy supposed he was the only one still sitting, but he couldn't bring himself to join in on the enthusiasm. Even Carl and Sheen were part of the group: Sheen was pestering Libby, who was giggling happily, and Carl was shyly asking Nissa something.

"Nissa, would you mind playing that rhythm for me?" Natesa called over the din, and the other girl nodded before fetching the drum and tapping out the beat. Jimmy watched as Natesa started leading several girls in a simple hip sway, and blinked when Cindy sidled over to him.

"Come to gloat?" he said, unable to keep the bitter tone from his voice, and she gave him a small smile that made him pause.

"I did try to warn you," she said before moving to sit atop the desk beside him, her jewelry shimmering faintly. "But no, that wasn't my intention."

"Then what do you want?" he snapped and watched her look at him, her smile gone. He felt sort of guilty for being so short with her, but her presence was making him far more nervous than it normally should have.

"I wanted to suggest we call it a draw, but now I'm starting to rethink that," she said, her voice rising a little with annoyance and anger. "If you're going to be rude to me, then why should I bother being nice?" She hopped from the desk, and without thinking, Jimmy snatched up her wrist before she could stomp away.

"Let me go!" she exclaimed and he realized what he'd done, jerking away like he'd been burned.

"Look," he started to say, but the bell rang, startling everyone. He stared up at the clock in disbelief; he couldn't believe how late it was. Where had the time gone?

When he looked back for Cindy, he saw that everyone had either left or were on their way out of the door. Sighing in frustration, he started after Carl and Sheen, who were heading for their lockers and chatting excitedly about the dance they'd just witnessed. Carl even tried to imitate a move Natesa had done, but his poor attempt sent Sheen into fits of hysterical laughter.

"What did you think of it, Jimmy?" Carl asked him once he could be heard over Sheen, and Jimmy grabbed his backpack before slamming his locker shut.

"I thought it was all right," he said as he turned to them, "if you like strange hypnotic dances where all they do is undulate and wiggle."

"Ooh, sounds like someone's jealous," Sheen said in a singsong voice, finally controlling himself enough to speak.

"What does undulate mean?" Carl asked, frowning in confusion.

"I'm not jealous! Why would I be jealous of Cindy's ability to mesmerize the class through a simple set of movements? I certainly wouldn't want that gift!"

"Why not?" Carl asked and Jimmy stared at him. "It was so fluid and graceful and they were wearing lots of pretty, shiny things!"

"It might make people actually pay attention to your science-y stuff," Sheen suggested and began a poor imitation of his own. "Everyone really seemed to like all the moving they did…"

"Exactly, which is why I'm going to run some tests on that incense," Jimmy said as Sheen danced around them. "I have a sneaking suspicion that Cindy did something to it to elicit the kind of reactions we saw."

"What, you mean aside from shake it in a pleasing manner?" Sheen said and Jimmy rolled his eyes in exasperation. "I think you're making stuff up because you're just jealous that her project was about a gazillion times better than ours."

"It was not! And I'm going to go back to class and get some of that incense to prove it!" he yelled before stomping off angrily. Once he was about half way down the hall, Sheen held up three fingers while looking at his watch.

"Three, two… and one."

"AND I AM NOT JEALOUS!"

"What do you say, Carl? Is this some deep denial, or what?"

"Is denial when you're lying to yourself?"

"Yup."

"Then yes, I'd say so."

* * *

So there you have it folks, Cindy's amazing project. I know this one is a tad on the long side, but I hope it was fun to read. Coming up: the trouble starts. What do you think is going to happen? And why was Jimmy acting so strangely over Cindy's dance? (Author is chuckling evilly.) Stay tuned for more fun and excitement! The next round of midterms is starting soon though, so hopefully I'll be able to get something up before then… bear with me, please! 


	6. It Starts

Well, it's been about a week and I seem to have found some time to write during this period. Midterms haven't been so bad thus far, but I'm not quite done with them and I've got some of my harder ones coming up soon. (Mutters obscenities about 10 week courses… they just don't give you a break!) Anyway, I'm so happy to have 41 reviews! (Does a happy dance) I love getting reviews and so another huge THANK YOU to everyone! It's been my goal for the longest time to get over 100 reviews (or just an even hundred) so we'll see what happens with this one, eh?

Anyhoo, standard disclaimers still apply, I don't own JN, and please don't sue. Now onwards and upwards!

_To Cross the Rubicon_  
By: pottergal

Chapter Six: It Starts…

Cindy sat at her desk in the empty classroom, twisting her hands around one of the pieces of cloth absently. She'd been the first one out of her costume, as Libby and Natesa were giggling about something Nick had said, and so she'd gone to set the classroom in order. No one had appeared by the time she'd finished, so she'd sat down, suddenly forced to struggle with the rush of strange emotions she'd felt ever since the conclusion of the dance.

She felt anxious and jittery and she wasn't quite sure what else, as there were so many intertwined feelings that she could barely begin to make heads or tails of them all. She wanted to run skipping down the halls from the sheer elation of actually winning, and yet… at the same time she wanted to apologize for making Jimmy look so… so _miserable_.

Where_ that_ particular feeling had come from, she could only wonder. She rarely felt guilty for upsetting him with her teasing, and once she'd even made him run from the room, screaming in anger and frustration. Of course she'd apologized to him afterwards, but she certainly hadn't felt bad over the whole thing. Not like this…

_Why do I feel like my life suddenly depends on Neutron's stupid emotional state?_ she thought despondently, sighing faintly as she looked out the window at the late afternoon sky. The world outside had turned a beautiful red-orange, which had slowly seeped into the room and cast it in a surreal light.

Cindy stood slowly and glided towards the nearest window, her fingers finding the latch easily and pushing it open. A cool breeze rewarded her for her efforts and worked to sap some of the lingering sandalwood smell. The incense had been nice, Cindy thought, but a little strong when left to burn as long as it had. It had been nearly overpowering during their performance, and the only reason she'd been able to keep her feet was from the amount of time she'd spent practicing and drilling in the steps.

The sound of a key in the lock made her spin in surprise and she knocked a craft supplies jar from the countertop in the process. She tried to catch it before it fell as well as see the person who'd entered, and wound up failing at both. She grimaced when the jar hit the ground and shattered, spilling buttons and bits of string all over the floor.

"Cindy?"

She froze at the sound of his voice, her heart nearly stopping and her eyes widening. She straightened slowly, her gaze trailing across the floor to his sneakers, which were hesitantly moving towards her. Why he suddenly had this kind of effect on her she longed to know; she never got nervous around Jimmy. _Never. _She just wasn't supposed to! With Jimmy, she turned flippant and cocky, and they argued their brains out. Nick was the only one who made her stutter like an idiot.

"Are you… all right? What broke?" he asked as he stopped a few feet from her, and she let her eyes travel upwards to his face. Her breath caught when their eyes met, the intense sapphire blue threatening to down what was left of her senses…

"I'm fine," she snapped, or tried to anyway. It came out more as a weak protest than anything. "I just need to go find a broom and dustpan because I knocked over one of the craft jars."

"Oh," he said and she watched as a small frown creased his brow. "Um, Cindy…"

"Yeah?"

"I think… I think I owe you an apology," he started and it was her turn to frown lightly when he looked down at his feet. "I know I was being rude to you this afternoon, and I'm sorry," he said, rushing the end slightly. "I was just upset, because… well…" She watched him draw a deep breath. "Your project-"

"You don't have to say it," she said, placing a finger to his lips and cutting him off. She ignored his look of surprise and part of her was marveling at her audacity. Where'd she suddenly get the courage to be so bold?

"This bet ended in a draw, all right? I think both of us really pulled out all the stops this time, and as much as I hate to admit it, your panorama movie experience was probably the coolest thing you've done." She drew back and watched him smile slowly, cursing herself as butterflies beat in her stomach.

"So why did you come in here?" she asked as she moved to Miss Fowl's closet, and could almost sense Jimmy shrug.

"Well, it's probably nothing," he said as she fished the broom and the dustpan from the back of the closet. "You… you didn't… um…" He was looking at his feet again and Cindy felt her grip tighten on the broom handle. "During your performance… you didn't… feel anything _weird_, did you?"

Cindy froze for the second time, and watched his gaze slowly work its way up to her face. He blinked when he caught sight of her expression and he took a small step in her direction.

"You did," he whispered and she shrugged slightly.

"If nearly collapsing from the smell of incense counts as weird, then yes," she said, meaning to stride over to the mess she made, but finding it very hard to lift her feet. "I'm never going to buy that brand ever again."

"So you think it was the incense too," he said, a clear note of relief present in his voice. "That's why I'm here actually. I wanted a sample to analyze back at the lab, to see if it contained any chemicals that would cause…" He trailed off and Cindy felt the experience rushing back.

There were no words that could describe that… that _pull_ she'd felt from deep within her. She'd glanced up at Jimmy halfway through the dance to find him staring at her, but it wasn't any normal look. She'd recognized it easily: it was the one he normally wore when he saw something truly amazing, like a star gone supernova or something. The sheer concentration and intensity behind his gaze had made her warm from the inside out, and suddenly… all that had mattered was him and his reaction.

_I couldn't look away, I couldn't think straight... I felt like I was drowning in his gaze,_ Cindy recalled, a small shiver running through her. It sure hadn't been normal, whatever it had been.

"Take it, analyze it, and tell me what you find," Cindy said at last, gesturing towards the trash bin. "I threw the ashes in there, and I have the half-burnt stick in my backpack." She went and retrieved it for him, and he took it carefully. "I want to know if it was this stupid incense that caused… well, whatever it was."

"I should have the analysis done by tomorrow morning," Jimmy said as he placed the remains in a small, sealable plastic bag. "And if I do manage to isolate a suspicious element, I'll bring something to neutralize it to school tomorrow. But hopefully it'll just wear off by then."

"Yeah, hopefully," Cindy said with a nervous laugh as she began to sweep up the remains of the jar. "See you tomorrow then?"

"First thing in the morning," he said over his shoulder as he headed out the door.

"Oh, and Jimmy?"

"Yeah?"

"Where'd you find the keys to get in here?" she asked, mildly curious, and he turned back to her. A rather mischievous smile lit up his face and he proffered a large ring of keys.

"They're the janitors. I should probably put them back on his belt before he wakes up," he said before giving her a small wave and leaving. Cindy shook her head slightly, trying to ignore the mixed feelings that rose within her as he left. She felt both relieved and upset… like she wanted him to stay as much as she wanted him to leave.

She sighed a little as she sat back against the counter, mulling over that thought. How could someone want two opposite things at the same time? Sure, she wanted him to leave; who wouldn't? He was a pain in the neck half the time and his ego could certainly use a good popping (which she tried to do on a daily basis), but still…

Okay, so maybe she didn't hate Jimmy as much as she claimed. And so maybe, when she was absolutely certain that no one was within a twenty mile radius, she could admit that _maybe_ she even sort of liked him. But it was only a little! And it was only when he wasn't going around hating her for picking on him, which was possibly most of the time…

But just because she could kind of admit it from time to time didn't mean she was going to start wearing it on her sleeve for everyone to see. Sure, they had agreed to try and be friends, but knowing him, he probably hadn't given much thought to the extent of her feelings. He probably didn't realize just how deep they went… and chances were he didn't want to know. Maybe all those times they'd almost kissed, he'd just felt obligated, or something. Like he was too nice to just say that he didn't want to kiss her…

_He's so timid with girls,_ she thought somewhat angrily as she went back to sweeping, her mind jumping suddenly to Betty and April. _He only likes Betty because she's gorgeous and as for April... it's because she showed interest in him._

Cindy felt a small pang as she stared down at the pile she'd created, her forehead coming to rest against the smooth wood of the broom handle. Sure, she hadn't shown interest like April had, though she had made her jealousy blatantly obvious. And besides, she couldn't just go around hugging him. He'd probably flip out and hate her.

Why couldn't they have a normal, friendly relationship for once? It seemed no matter how hard they tried, it never worked. That contract she'd drawn up had lasted about five minutes, marking possibly the shortest amount of time that they'd gotten along. They always went back to arguing and picking at each other; it never failed. It was like they were stuck in some vicious cycle that neither had the power nor the courage to break.

_It's like we're scared of what might happen if we didn't fight,_ she thought as she swept the mess into the dustpan. _It's strange, uncharted territory, and instead of going and exploring, we stay behind the boundaries where we know it's safe._

But she as much as she was getting tired of staying where it was safe, she knew that it would take a miracle to redraw those lines.

_Old habits die hard...

* * *

_

Jimmy turned the last corner on the road leading to school, his mind too preoccupied to appreciate the changes he'd made to his hovercraft. The turning was a good deal smoother and he'd developed a new stabilizing system that would help prevent the risk of losing control and flipping over, and as much as he'd wanted to enjoy the test run, he was much more concerned about the incident from the previous day.

_I wonder what Cindy is going to say when I tell her I couldn't find anything,_ he thought, grimacing slightly before pulling into a parking place and setting the hovercraft down gently.

"Gas planets, I was so sure it was the incense!" he muttered as he hopped out, his expression set in a perplexed frown. He absently turned on the alarm system before heading to the entrance of the school, wondering if everyone was already there.

_I came up with nothing out of the ordinary, and none of the chemicals produced the sort of neural responses that I experienced,_ he thought, his frown deepening. He'd run every test he could come up with, from testing the burnt ashes to testing the smoke, and he'd even burned several small samples to see if they affected him as they had in class. Naturally they hadn't.

"Hey, Jimmy!"

He looked up at the sound of his name to find Carl and Sheen standing at the base of the steps and he smiled weakly in greeting.

"You sure don't look too good," Sheen said as he approached, and Carl looked at him in worry.

"You're not sick, are you? If so, get away! I'm allergic!" the redhead exclaimed, thrusting Sheen in front of him for protection.

"Hey, I don't want it either! Let me go!" Sheen yelled, struggling to back away from Jimmy and failing.

"Guys, I'm not sick!" he said with an eye roll, his tone mildly irritated, and Sheen and Carl instantly relaxed, halting their attempts to stay away. "I'm just tired. I was up late again last night, only I was analyzing that incense instead of tinkering with the Virtua Chef."

"Oh," Carl said. "So did you find what you were looking for?"

Jimmy shook his head, sighing a little and looking away in frustration. "No," he said sullenly, his hands tightening around his backpack straps. "I performed every test I could possibly think of, and yet I found nothing to explain the sort of responses that their dance generated. I guess I'm lucky that Cindy offered to call the bet a draw…"

"So that's why you're not bald this morning," Sheen said, poking at Jimmy's cowlick, while Carl looked slightly crestfallen.

"And I was looking forward to helping you pick out hats to wear too…" he said, kicking his foot against the ground forlornly, and Jimmy stared at him in disbelief.

"You mean you _wanted_ me to lose?"

"No!" Carl exclaimed quickly. "I was just thinking, is all, and I figured that if you somehow did lose and had to shave your head, I wouldn't have minded helping you pick out something to wear until it grew back."

Jimmy continued to stare, his mind mulling over all the possible things to say in response, searching for something appropriate, but he was spared of the burden when a familiar voice spoke up, effectively ending their conversation.

"If it isn't Nerdtron and his two hapless sidekicks," it said, and Jimmy turned to see Cindy and Libby hopping off the bus while sharing a knowing look.

"We aren't hapless!" Sheen exclaimed, outraged for a split second, and then poked Jimmy in the arm.

"Are we?"

Jimmy ignored him and took a step towards the two newcomers, crossing his arms over his chest angrily. "That's a fine way to greet someone who's been working all night on your behalf!"

"No one told you to, Neutron," Cindy said breezily, slowly turning her gaze to look at him. "I may've asked you about the incense, but I never…"

Jimmy felt his anger waver slightly when she finally looked at him, as her sudden reaction was not the one he'd been expecting. Her eyes went wide with an unidentifiable emotion and her mouth fell open a little. She stopped dead in her tracks and earned herself a look of surprise from Libby.

"Cindy? What's wrong?" she asked, and Jimmy blinked when the blond girl collapsed, landing on her behind with a faint thump. Her gaze was still locked onto him, though her eyes had glazed over, and he shifted from foot to foot uncomfortably. What was going on?

"Are you feeling all right?" Libby tried again, bending over slightly and tilting her head to one side in curiosity. "Should I take you to the nurse or something?"

Libby looked up at them helplessly when Cindy didn't respond, and against his better judgment, Jimmy edged closer, absently noting that Carl and Sheen were trailing after him as poor backup. He could hear Carl whimpering in fear, as though he was expecting Cindy to explode at any minute, and Sheen was staring at the girl with eerie fascination.

"Uh, Cindy?" Jimmy tried, and Libby waved a hand in front of Cindy's face without any reaction. She didn't even blink, which should've been a normal reflex, one that few could stop from occurring.

"Can you… can you hear me?" he asked, snapping his fingers right in front of her nose, and everyone jumped backwards when she jerked slightly, her eyes finally focusing.

"Of course I can hear you," she said Jimmy wrestled with himself before slowly extending a hand to help her up.

"What happened?" Libby asked as Cindy blinked at Jimmy's hand for a moment. "One minute you were walking and the next you were on the ground. You didn't eat anything funny for breakfast this morning, did you?"

"I'm fine," she said as she slipped her hand into his and her gaze moved up to his face. "I'm just…" Jimmy frowned as she smiled… no, _beamed_ up at him.

"I'm just so happy to see you, Jimmy!" she exclaimed, stunning him so thoroughly that he was completely unprepared when she threw herself into his arms. The force of her embrace knocked them to the ground, where he lay, staring up at the sky with wide eyes, and part of him was dimly aware that Cindy was nuzzling his shoulder.

It took a few moments before the full meaning behind her actions sank in, and Jimmy's expression quickly became one of utmost horror and fear.

"Cindy!" he choked out, as her arms had become dangerously tight around his neck. "What're you doing!"

"Hm?" she murmured before pushing herself off him slightly. "Oh! Oh no, I'm so sorry, Jimmy!" she exclaimed as she scrambled off him and pulled him to his feet. "I didn't realize that I'd knocked you to the ground… and look! You're all dusty now… I'm so sorry! I didn't mean for this to happen!"

"Cindy, what has gotten into you?" Libby asked, her eyes wide with shock, and it wasn't long before her expression melted to slight anger.

"All right, Jimmy," she said, planting her hands on her hips. "What kind of experiment went wrong and thus has seriously messed up my best friend?"

"I didn't do anything!" he shouted, panic filling him as he felt Cindy wind her arms around his left one. He tried to edge away, but earned himself a giggle from Cindy, and she latched onto him. "I swear! I have no idea why she's acting like this!" he continued, trying unsuccessfully to detach himself from her death grip.

"Come on, Jimmy," Sheen scoffed as he got his left arm free, only to have Cindy grab onto his right, which he'd been using to hold her off. "You must've done something. There's no other logical explanation for it."

"If anyone did anything, it's Cindy!" he exclaimed, earning a puzzled look from Libby. "She's the one who asked me to analyze that incense because she said she felt something funny during your dance!"

"But all of us were exposed to it, Jimmy, and none of us feel like hugging you," Libby said as Jimmy worked his right arm free, only to have Cindy latch her arms around his shoulders, a dreamy smile present on her face. "Besides, hasn't Carl been using that stuff for weeks now?" she reasoned and Sheen nodded.

"Yeah, Jimmy, you don't see Carl glomming onto you, do you?" he said and if Jimmy hadn't been so preoccupied with gaining his freedom from Cindy, he would've glared at them.

"If you're so smart, you figure it out!" Jimmy snapped, finding it next to impossible to maneuver in the hold Cindy had on him. She was acting like a bind, pinning his arms to his sides and rendering his hands useless. "And let me ask you, why in the name of Heisenberg would I want Cindy hugging me!"

"Maybe he turned himself into a Cindy magnet," Carl suggested and Jimmy saw that the three of them were huddled together a few feet away.

"Yeah, that way he wouldn't be lying when he said that he hadn't done anything to Cindy!" Sheen added and Jimmy growled in frustration.

"Oh, for cryin' in mud! WEREN'T YOU LISTENING TO ME?"

"The proof still stands, Jimmy," Libby said calmly, ignoring the fact that Carl and Sheen were cowering behind her. "There is something seriously wrong with Cindy, and since you're the only one who seems to cause these sorts of things, we have no other choice but to assume that it's your fault."

"Oh yeah, that's just great," he said darkly, trying to worm his way out of Cindy's vice-like grip as his fingers were starting to go numb from the amount of pressure she was applying to his upper arms. "Blame me! You always do! There couldn't be any other possible explanation!"

"Uh, Jimmy? Just to be fair," Sheen began, poking his head out from behind Libby. "Things usually are your fault, so we kind of have the right to blame you."

"I DON'T CARE!" he shouted and Sheen ducked back behind Libby, who blinked slightly at his outburst. "Look at the facts, _please_! Cindy and I CAN'T STAND each other, right? So WHY would either of us want to turn her into a… a…"

"A Jimmy-hugging monster?" Sheen suggested.

"Exactly!" he exclaimed as Cindy let out a dreamy sigh, and her grip tightened painfully.

"Hey, Jim? This is just a thought, but…" Carl began, blinking at him worriedly from behind Libby. "What if this is all just an elaborate hoax created by Cindy and Libby over a late night conversation when the fatigue had gone to their brains and they wanted to find the best possible way to humiliate you?" Carl suggested timidly, and Libby spun angrily to face him.

"And WHY would I put my best friend through this kind of embarrassment? I don't think you could pay her enough to hug Jimmy!" Libby shouted and Carl whimpered before dropping to all fours and covering his head with his hands.

"Don't hurt me, please!"

_He has a point... _As Libby began chewing out Carl, Jimmy looked down at the girl currently resting her head happily against his chest. _And I wouldn't put it past the two of them to do something like this. Maybe that's what that look was for this morning..._

"Uh, Cindy, if really is just a hoax, could you please call it off now? Before things get any worse?" he asked quietly and she looked up at him, a small confused frown on her face.

"What are you talking about, Jimmy? Why on earth would I play a joke on you?" He had to give her credit, she certainly did sound sincere. She must've been practicing to pull off the act she was putting on; he couldn't see her being able to do this instantaneously.

"Because that's what you do?" he said, a note of disbelief present in his voice. "You live to torment me, playing as many humiliating pranks on me as possible, right?" She blinked at that, and her eyes widened in surprise.

"I could never play pranks on you, Jimmy," she said, the strange note to her voice almost making him wonder if it wasn't a hoax after all and that some bizarre change had occurred. "You know why…"

"Cindy, absolutely nothing has stopped you before," he reasoned as she trailed off, her expression becoming unreadable. "You've embarrassed me countless times in the past, and quite frankly, Carl's suggestion is possibly the only logical explanation for your highly erratic behavior."

"You think this is a joke? That what I feel is a… a hoax?" she asked softly, and Jimmy stiffened at the hurt tone to her voice. It sounded like she was…

_Oh no...!_

"Cindy, please don't cry," he said, trying to soothe her while glancing around nervously. "I didn't mean to upset you; I was merely telling the truth!"

"I don't know what you think is the truth, mister, but I could never, ever, be horrible to you! Never in a million years!"

"Uh, Cindy? Can we take a reality check here, please?" Libby asked, frowning, and Jimmy realized that the three of them were watching him and Cindy very closely. "You live to torment Jimmy, remember? I even helped you work out your frustrations on that life-sized Neutron punching bag of yours?"

_Wha...? _Jimmy glanced at Libby sharply, but she was focused on Cindy. He opened his mouth to ask her about it when Cindy's grip, which had been loosening up until Libby had spoken, tightened, and he bit his lip to keep from crying out.

_She _really _needs to lay off the Tae Kwan Do, or whatever it is she does to make herself this strong..._

"That's impossible!" Cindy exclaimed, looking extremely hurt, and Libby glanced at Jimmy nervously. "Let me ask you this, Miss Folfax: how could I be mean to him when I love him?"

Jimmy froze at that, part of him unable to comprehend Cindy's sentence and part of him screaming in denial.

_Nope, no way. I didn't just hear that._

His mind kept running in loops over what she'd said and it was absolutely refusing to make sense of it. He could feel a muscle in his cheek twitch slightly as Cindy rested her head against his chest again, and he was dimly aware of the shocked gasps from Libby, Sheen, and Carl. He barely registered the fact that Cindy had looked back up at him, a happy smile on her face.

"I could never hurt you, Jimmy," she said softly, shyly, and his mind slowly began to unthaw, struggling to work around the foreign data that she'd supplied him with. "You understand now?"

"Did you just say… what I think you said?" he heard himself asking, and he dimly recorded her blink.

"You want me to repeat myself?" he heard her say with a small giggle, and she leaned in so that her lips were right by his ear. He tried to pull away, but his body was still frozen, locked into a stiff, standing position.

"I love you, James Isaac Neutron," she whispered before kissing his ear gently.

_Fatal system's error!_

That was the last straw for Jimmy's poor brain, who couldn't take the sensory overload that it had just experienced. Cindy saying the impossible, and _twice!_ The odds of that happening were easily… were easily…

_Fatal system's error!_

She'd kissed him! Oh jumping Jupiter, she'd actually _kissed_ him! Sure, they might've accidentally hugged once or twice, and they had come close to kissing a few times, but those were accidents. They were! The only time he'd meant to kiss her was in that crazy dream of Carl's, and never in a million tropical or sidereal years would he have predicted that she might kiss him! It wasn't Cindy! Cindy didn't go around _kissing_ him. The odds of that were… the odds were…

_Reboot!_

Blind panic was rising within Jimmy, a giant tidal wave of emotion that rendered all of his superior logic completely useless. He felt the world spin around him and watched as it became a huge swirl of blues and greens and grays, his mind trying desperately to fight back against the numbing. The odds of Cindy kissing him were… the odds of her publicly announcing her love for him… kissing him… odds… _love_…

_Reboot, REBOOT!_

And so Jimmy did the only thing he could've possibly done in his situation, given that his arms were bound by a painful death grip and he had no way of breaking free.

He fainted.

"_Jimmy!_"

"Oh cool, she broke him! I can see smoke coming from his ears!"

"That's dust, Sheen! They fell again!"

"She killed him! _Cindy just killed Jimmy!_"

"Get a grip, Carl! He just collapsed!"

"Jimmy, speak to me! Oh, come on, help me! We've got to get him to the nurse!"

* * *

I know, I know, another long one! But it was so much fun to write that I just couldn't bring myself to stop. Now I know what most of you are probably thinking: shameless rip off of the Valentine episode, right? Well, let me tell you that though the premise may be similar, I thought it would be funny if it was Cindy chasing Jimmy instead of the other way around. And the cause of this occurrence may or may not surprise you… Also, I've never seen the Valentine episode, and I feel extremely deprived, so any similarities from here on out are purely coincidental. 

So anyway, what do you think has happened to Cindy? And how are they going to fix the problem? Stay tuned for the next chapter!


	7. Mysteries, Messes, and Mayhem

So yes, it's been WAY over a week, and I have absolutely no excuse aside from three nasty midterms that very likely have kicked my butt. So not only was this chapter written on an extreme lack of sleep, but my debt to the nighttime has made it so I can now sleep 14 hours and still feel utterly exhausted. A big woo hoo for that.

Anyway, thank you to everyone who has reviewed! I can't express how happy I am to see 51 reviews, and I love each and every single one of you. Really, I do! I may not know you all, but if you like my stuff you must be good people, right:P (pottergal gets smacked upside the head with some common sense) Ehhh, all right, all right, I'll get on with it.

Standard disclaimer still applies: Nick owns JN and I don't. I'm just borrowing the characters for some harmless and non-profit fun.

_To Cross the Rubicon_  
By: pottergal

Chapter Seven: Mysteries, Messes, and Mayhem

Jimmy slowly opened his eyes, and blinked when he found that the sky had turned a strange off-white. Wasn't it normally blue? What had happened to it? And why… why were there several different sources of light? Had they suddenly gained three new suns without his knowledge? And if so… why hadn't they been fried to a crisp yet? Wouldn't the Earth be scorching under that amount of radiation?

"Jimmy?"

He blinked again at the soft voice and his eyes slowly focused. He realized that he was indoors and that he was staring up at a foreign ceiling; that was why the sky had looked so funny. He looked around a little more, his head tilting slightly so he could see to his left, and he found a wall covered with wooden cabinets and a large counter with a sink. There were several jars of popsicle sticks (which he suddenly realized were tongue depressants) and cotton swabs resting on the counter, and he frowned. Wherever he was certainly wasn't his classroom, and it wasn't a hallway…

"Are you feeling all right? You fainted so I brought you to the nurse's office."

A cool hand began to gently smooth back his hair, bringing a smile unbidden to his lips, and he shut his eyes while sighing contentedly. The person's touch was so tender… it dimly reminded him of his mother, and how she used to sing him to sleep when he was much younger.

"I was so worried, Jimmy," the voice continued faintly and Jimmy struggled to identify it. He felt as though he were trudging through thick fog, like his brain purposely wasn't working right, and it was starting to frustrate him.

"What happened?" he said, his voice no more than a groggy whisper, and he leaned into the person's caress, his thoughts strangely murky. It had to be a girl, he decided. And since none of his friends would ever be this affectionate, that left only one person…

"We were just talking," she said, and he could hear the smile in her voice. Whatever they'd been talking about must've been nice… "But then you went all rigid and you collapsed. The nurse couldn't find anything wrong with you, but she still called your parents. I think your mom might be coming to get you, though I'm not sure…"

"I feel fine now," he said, opening his eyes and expecting to see a certain dark-haired girl smiling down at him happily.

"I'm glad," she said, and Jimmy blinked. Wait a minute! That wasn't Betty…

_Leaping leptons!_

"Cindy!" he shouted in disbelief, jerking upright and nearly falling off the small hospital-style bed in the process. "What're you… I mean, why are you… what's going on!"

He watched as Cindy frowned at him, her confusion apparent, but before she could respond, the sound of a door opening made her turn.

"Oh, good, you're awake," a new voice said and Jimmy looked from the girl sitting at his bedside to see the school nurse entering from the reception area. Cindy stood and graciously let the woman have her seat. "I was beginning to worry about you, as it's been nearly an hour."

"I was unconscious for that long?" Jimmy asked, slightly astounded, and the feeling grew as his memories slowly began to return. As the nurse placed a thermometer under his tongue, he glanced over her shoulder at Cindy, who was hovering impatiently, worry etched into her features.

"Miss Vortex, you may return to class now," the nurse said somewhat curtly, and when Cindy opened her mouth to protest, the nurse sent her a rather stern look. "There is no need for your presence, and as much as I understand your concern for Mr. Neutron, it looks as though he's fine."

_Please leave,_ Jimmy thought anxiously as Cindy frowned. _Please oh please oh please let her leave..._

"I'll probably be releasing him soon enough, so if you don't see him in class, you'll see him at recess," the nurse continued and Cindy slumped slightly, defeated. "Now scoot; you're beginning to agitate my patient."

"Yes ma'am," Cindy said, and after giving Jimmy a smile, she turned and left.

_Thank you_, he thought as he relaxed and breathed a small sigh of relief. _I need to think of some way to keep her away from me. Too bad I got rid of the Jim Tech; it would be perfect in this situation._

_But then again..._ he frowned slightly. After seeing how much Cindy's behavior had changed, she just might find a way to dismantle it. No, he needed to come up with something else. Holographic projections to keep him hidden might work… maybe if he created one of himself running in the opposite direction?

_Before I can figure out what happened to her I need to find out exactly what she ate yesterday. Maybe there was something in the food that reacted strangely with the incense... _Jimmy thought as the timer for the thermometer went off and the nurse plucked it from beneath his tongue.

"Hm, your temperature is normal," she said, sounding somewhat perplexed. "What did you eat for breakfast, young man?"

Jimmy thought for a moment before grimacing. "Um, I didn't eat this morning," he said and the nurse clucked in disapproval. "I woke up late and had to rush to get here on time, so I grabbed a piece of toast on my way out the door."

"A solitary piece of toast isn't nearly enough to sustain a growing boy," the nurse said before writing out some instructions on a pad of paper. "Take this to the cafeteria and see that you get a decent meal in you." Jimmy took the piece of paper she handed him as he slipped from the bed and the nurse began writing in a notebook.

"See that this doesn't happen again, Mr. Neutron," she said as he moved to the door. "It's a mark of irresponsibility that I never expected from you. Geniuses have to eat as well, don't they?"

The tone in her voice irked Jimmy, his hand tightening around the door knob, but he held his tongue. It wouldn't do to upset the school nurse, who had say over their health care, even if she had insulted him.

Jimmy did what he was told and made his way to the cafeteria, whereupon he received a toasted bagel with some cream cheese as well as a fresh plate of scrambled eggs and two small cartons of orange juice. As he ate on the stage (none of the tables had been set up yet), swinging his feet slightly and enjoying the leisurely moment, he wondered absently if it had been something in the cafeteria food. Cindy normally brought a lunch, but what if she'd actually eaten a school cooked meal yesterday? Everyone knew school food was suspicious, so what if there'd been some kind of dormant chemical that had kicked in when she'd been exposed to the incense?

_It warrants some investigation,_ he thought as he finished off the orange juice and tossed the two cartons into the trash bin nearby. Taking a bite of his bagel, he started back for the kitchens under the pretense of returning the plate and fork.

Now naturally there were some pretty big flaws in his hypothesis, as no one else seemed to be experiencing the kinds of symptoms Cindy was exhibiting, and surely many of the other students had also eaten in the cafeteria. So why weren't they stampeding towards him like Cindy had?

_No, it couldn't have been the school food, as I know Sheen bought a lunch yesterday,_ Jimmy thought, frowning around his bagel. _You don't see him trampling Cindy to get to my side._ At that, he muttered a fervent 'thank goodness'; Cindy, though his rival, was thankfully female. He might've internally combusted on the spot if it had been Sheen in her place.

_But I'm still no closer to a cause,_ he thought as he handed back the plate and utensil. He rejected his theory about the cafeteria food, but he supposed it made things easier, as now he wouldn't have to try and find samples from leftovers to examine.

The ringing of a bell made him glance up at the clock, and he blinked slightly. Was it recess already? He finished off his bagel and started for his classroom, figuring that he should check in with Miss Fowl and see what he'd missed as well as find out the lesson plan for the day.

_Me irresponsible, ha!_ He thought indignantly as he started to weave his way through the throngs of students. Most of them were heading for their lockers or the playground, which unfortunately happened to be in the opposite direction of his class. After being yelled at by a rather tall girl for running into her, he resigned himself to waiting in an alcove by the drinking fountains until the steady stream thinned out and he could continue onwards more easily.

"Jimmy, there you are!"

_Oh no..._

He froze at the sound of Cindy's voice, and he glanced over his shoulder slightly to see her fighting against the flow of students, trying her hardest to get to him. Fortunately they hadn't made eye contact, as she was forcing an apology out of a third grader who'd stepped on her foot, so Jimmy took the opportunity and ran.

He knew that it was impossible to beat her at speed, but he hoped that with enough of a head start that he could make it into the classroom or at the very least a discreet closet somewhere. He needed to hide until she gave up trying to find him and left the building…

_There it is!_

He could see his classroom up ahead, but as he neared the door opened and he crashed headlong into the person exiting. It was just his luck that the person happened to be Nick Dean.

"Ow! Dang it, Neutron, watch where you're going!" the taller boy exclaimed, his tone slightly outraged, as Jimmy fell to the ground, blinking and gasping for breath.

"Oh, Nick, are you all right?" he heard Brittany coo in concern, and he could almost see him brushing her off slightly.

"I'm fine. But why the rush, Neutron? Did you go into withdrawals from not being in class this morning?" he asked, chuckling, and several girlish twitters of laughter cropped up around him. "I guess a guy like you can't take being out of class for that long."

Jimmy pushed himself up and found a small group of people staring down at him curiously, most of whom were girls from Nick's constant entourage. He looked over his shoulder worriedly before answering.

"For your information, Nick, I happen to be running for my life!" he shot back as he picked himself up and brushed himself off. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to hide before-"

"Jimmy!"

Cindy's voice floated down the hall, and Jimmy swore that his heart stopped for a moment in fear. He slowly turned to look over his shoulder and found the blond girl happily skipping towards them.

"Too late…" he muttered as Cindy promptly latched onto his right arm, giggling as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"I was so worried about you, Jimmy! I went to the nurse's office right after class, but she said that you'd gone to the cafeteria, so I checked there," she said, not noticing the wide-eyed looks of shock she was receiving from Nick and his group. "But they said that you'd left as soon as the bell rang, so I went back to the halls, and there you were! But you vanished before I could catch up… it's so lucky that I ran into you here!"

"Um, Cindy? Could you let go of me, please?" he asked, his voice slightly strained, and she blinked up at him.

"Why? Does it make you uncomfortable?" she asked and he nodded several times. "Oh, I'm sorry, Jimmy. I didn't realize! I was just trying to display my deep affection for you," she said as she let go of him, and he noticed that Nick's mouth had fallen open in a look of utmost astonishment.

"When did this happen?" he asked as Jimmy started to edge towards the classroom. "Did you do something to her, Neutron?" That sent a flash of resentment through him and he couldn't help glaring at Nick.

"I didn't do anything! Why does everyone just automatically assume that when something goes wrong, it's my fault!" he retorted heatedly and Nick gave him a look. "I don't know why she isn't swooning over you like she normally is! I've been trying to figure it out, but I haven't come up with anything!"

"Why would I be swooning over Nick?"

Everyone, save Jimmy, stared at Cindy in amazement. Brittany looked even more confused than usual, the two other girls were opening and closing their mouths silently, and Nick just gaped at her. Cindy glanced at each of them in turn before looking back to Jimmy and frowning.

"What's the matter with them?"

"Cindy, like, what's the matter with you!" Brittany finally spoke, and Cindy glanced at her while raising a single eyebrow in a silent question. "First you start hugging Neutron, but now… now you're insulting Nick?"

"Um, hello," Cindy said, rolling her eyes slightly. "How could I possibly like a guy who cares more about his hair and styling products than my well-being?" All the girls in the group gasped, looking slightly outraged. "Sure, Jimmy is a showoff, but he's got more heart and courage than Nick could ever hope to."

"All right, Neutron," Nick said at last and Jimmy gulped when he found that everyone (sans Cindy) was glaring at him. "You're going to fix this, and you're going to fix it now."

"Yeah! Cindy would never say these kinds of things of her own free will!" a girl from the back yelled and Nick cracked his knuckles menacingly.

"I already told you, I didn't do anything!" Jimmy shouted desperately, slowly retreating until he felt his back hit the wall of lockers. "If it were within my power to put Cindy back into her right mind, I would!"

"Jimmy, I am in my right mind!"

"No you're not! If you were, you wouldn't be saying these kinds of things about me!" he shouted at her and he watched her expression darken.

"And I'm telling you that I am!" she yelled back, and started pushing people out of her way to get to him.

"Move!" Another round of gasps was heard when Cindy shoved Nick aside and stood before Jimmy, glaring down at him angrily. "How could you doubt me? I haven't done anything out of the ordinary!"

"Cindy, you just insulted Nick, as well as pushed him out of the way," Jimmy reasoned, casting worried glances at the other boy. "_He's_ your crush, remember? Your hero and all that? I'm the guy you pick on every day!"

"And I already told you that's impossible!" Cindy snapped loudly, making him wince slightly. "You're the one I love; not that pretty boy!"

Jimmy squeezed his eyes shut and clasped his hands over his ears just as even more gasps were heard from the girls. "I didn't just hear that," he said and could almost feel Cindy's look of disbelief. "I didn't just hear that. Cindy didn't just pronounce her love for me again; this is all some sick joke she's come up with to humiliate me and get me in trouble…"

"I say we pound him!"

Nick's enraged shout did manage to break though his mantra of denials and his eyes snapped open in fear. He found Nick and his gang of girls looming over him dangerously, but suddenly Cindy was there, settled into one of her martial arts stances.

"Touch one hair on his oversized head and you'll find yourselves in a world of pain," she growled, and all the girls backed off instantly. Nick hesitated for a moment, as though debating the kind of damage she could do to him, but he soon took a small step backwards.

"You're lucky my mom taught me never to beat up girls," Nick said before motioning for his entourage. "This isn't over, Neutron. You won't always have someone to hide behind, and when that time comes, I'll be there," he said as they sauntered off down the halls, and Jimmy slid to the floor in a mixture of relief and dread.

"Good riddance," he heard Cindy mutter before turning to him. "Oh no, Jimmy! Are you all right? Why are you on the floor?"

"I just felt like it, okay?" he said, his gaze focusing on her sneakers, and he blinked when she offered him a hand.

"Come on, I'll take you through what you missed," she said, the smile back in her voice, and Jimmy hesitantly took her hand. She then hauled him to his feet and began to drag him into the classroom. "It really wasn't all that difficult, and I'm sure it'll be cake for someone as smart as you."

_Could this day get any worse?_ Jimmy thought absently, unaware that the phrase, when put into words, typically did make any given situation much, much worse.

* * *

Woo hoo, back to almost my regular length. Sorry for those of you who got used to the longer chapters, but I thought this was a good place to stop. I probably could go on for a while longer, but oh well. So what do you think of the story thus far? Hopefully this is different enough not to be called a rip off of the Valentine episode; can you tell I'm really worried about that?

Anyhoo, what do you think is going to happen? And will Jimmy finally find the solution he's been looking for? Stay tuned!


	8. At Long Last, the Cause?

Wahhh! I'm so sorry, everyone! I can't believe how long it has taken me to update… mostly it's because of Finals Week and the start of a new quarter here at school. I've been running around like a chicken without a head, and consequently, haven't had much time to devote to writing. Anyway, enough of my excuses, right? Go enjoy the next chapter!

Standard disclaimer still applies! I own nothing related to JN and am simply a poor, humble student with no money whatsoever. Don't sue!

_To Cross the Rubicon_  
By: pottergal

Chapter Eight: At Long Last… the Cause?

His day had gotten worse, Jimmy decided, as he slumped into his seat. He was beginning to think that a torture chamber might be a better place to be than his classroom, as the past half hour had been complete murder.

Miss Fowl had assigned a short research project, which would be due in a few weeks, and when the moment came to decide the groups, Cindy had automatically leapt to his side. Libby had been close behind her, saying that whenever Jimmy's handiwork wore off, she'd be needed to keep Cindy from killing him. Jimmy had looked desperately from Carl to Sheen, who'd shared a nervous look.

"It'll be all right, Jimmy," Sheen had said at last, placing his hand over his heart. "For the goodness of humanity, I volunteer-"

"Wait just one llama-picking minute!" Carl had exclaimed and everyone had looked at him. "The last time Sheen said that, I wound up volunteering. And therefore, I volunteer Sh-"

"Good man, Carl," Sheen had said, interrupting him, and Carl had blinked in confusion. "I was going to be the one to offer myself, but since you're so set on being in Jimmy's group, I'll go find someone else to pair with." At that, he'd shaken Carl's rubbery hand and got up to find someone else's group.

So the group had been formed, and Miss Fowl had let them have until lunch to start working on it. They'd moved four desks into a square, with Jimmy trying to get the desk furthest from Cindy, but he'd failed and had wound up sitting across from her. As far as he was concerned, he'd handled her nearly continuous giggles and flirtatious looks quite well, no matter how distracting they were.

So now he sat sullenly across from Cindy, throwing wary glances her way probably more than was strictly necessary, but at the moment he felt incredibly jumpy. He blamed it on the fact that she was batting her lashes at him every chance she got, but thankfully since Libby had yelled at her the last time she'd done it, she'd stopped for the most part.

"Since this research project has to be about someone who has made a great contribution to America, I say we do it on Men Pretending To Be Boys," Libby announced, trace amounts of annoyance present in her voice. "Since we've sat here for the past half hour doing absolutely NOTHING, and since no one else has any other ideas, we're doing mine."

"Now wait just one Neutronic minute," Jimmy said, taking his eyes off Cindy to frown at Libby. "Who said we didn't have anything to contribute?"

"How about the fact that you've spent more time trying to ignore Cindy than trying to figure out a topic for our project?" Libby snapped, glaring at him, and he gave her a look. "Besides, whatever you think up is going to be based on science."

"Precisely," he said, nodding his head a little. "I was going to suggest we focus on Robert Hutchings Goddard, without whom we would not have liquid-fueled rockets, thus rendering space travel an impossibility."

"Isn't Goddard your dog, Jimmy?" Carl asked, blinking at him, and he nodded.

"Yeah, but I named him for the physicist, as he's an idol of mine," he said and Carl blinked again before nodding slightly.

"I don't care if he's your idol or even your father, but we're not going to do this on some dumb old rocket scientist," Libby argued, turning her glare on Carl as well as Jimmy. "I have one word for you, and that's 'boring'! There's a reason people fall asleep during your presentations, Jimmy!"

"It's not my fault they don't appreciate science!" he shot back and Libby rolled her eyes.

"Well, it's not your job to try and make them!" she said before looking at Cindy. "Come on, back me up on this! We should do the pop sensation, Men Pretending To Be Boys, right?"

"Well…" Cindy said, biting her lip.

"Oh, never mind! I shouldn't have asked you for help, you're just going to agree with Jimmy!" Libby exclaimed, throwing up her hands in frustration.

"Libs, it's not that I think you have a bad idea," Cindy said, peering up at her friend sheepishly. "It's just that I think it'd be easier to do the project on something that's not quite so much a stretch as focusing on a pop group is."

"Love makes traitors of the best of friends," Jimmy heard Libby mutter as she slumped in her seat and Cindy sighed. "Carl, what's your vote? It seems you're going to be the deciding factor."

"Well…" he began, glancing from Libby to Jimmy. "As much as I hate turmoil, I was kind of hoping we could do the project on William Randolph Hearst, who had an estate populated with llamas."

Libby was silent for a moment before sitting up and looking straight at Jimmy. "You heard of this guy?" she asked and he frowned in thought before shaking his head. "That means chances are he's not a crazy scientist…"

"He was a famous journalist from the early twentieth century," Cindy said promptly, and everyone stared at her. "He's the guy who came up with the idea of sensationalizing news stories to make them sell better."

"Wow, really?" Carl said with wide eyes and Cindy nodded a few times. Libby glanced at everyone in turn before slapping her hands on the desk.

"All right, then it's settled," she said, her tone firm. "We're going to do this Hurts guy, since no one seems to like my idea or Jimmy's. I'll go tell Miss Fowl what we're doing and then we can head over to the library."

They did just that, and after plundering the book shelves, the four of them took up residence at one of the many round tables present. Jimmy once again tried to avoid sitting beside Cindy, and once again failed, his body tensing as she scooted closer. He kept glancing at her from the corner of his eye, swearing that she was just trying to look innocent as she sat there reading a biography. He had the worst feeling she was planning something, something horrible and diabolical and-

"AH!"

Heads shot up as Jimmy leapt from his chair; something had brushed against his leg. He glared at Cindy, who was blinking in confusion, and from the corner of his eye, he could see Carl taking several liberal doses from his inhaler.

Libby, however, simply raised an eyebrow. "What's up, Jimmy?" she asked calmly and Jimmy thrust an accusing finger at Cindy, who merely blinked at it.

"She's trying to play that stupid foot game with me!" he exclaimed and everyone stared at him.

"You mean 'footsie'?" Libby asked, though she sounded extremely annoyed, and he nodded a few times. "Were you, Cindy?"

"I'm sorry, I thought it was the table leg," she said and Libby gave Jimmy a look. "I would've apologized sooner if I'd known it was you." She looked up at him remorsefully, but he glared.

"She's lying!" he said and Libby sighed in frustration.

"What do you want us to do? Make her move?"

"Yeah!"

"Well, too bad," Libby snapped and Jimmy stared at her. "This group needs the both of you and we're not going to get anything done if you sit at other tables. So sit down, shut up, and work!"

Jimmy plopped into his seat meekly after being faced with Libby's anger, and opened the book he'd been attempting to read. He hadn't made much progress in it at all, being that he'd been trying to keep an eye on Cindy. It didn't help that it was possibly one of the most boring books he'd ever read; it had nothing scientific in it at all. It was all about this stupid publisher and his earth moving ideas. Where was the fun in that?

Just as he was starting to get into a reading groove, he felt Cindy's leg brush his again. He nearly bolted from his chair, but the thought of a thoroughly enraged Libby was just enough to keep him silent and stiff in his seat. He snuck a glance at Cindy to find her absorbed in her reading; she was tapping her pencil against her cheek lightly until she found something worthwhile and jotted it down in her notebook.

_So maybe that was an accident too?_ He mentally rolled his eyes and began glaring into space when her ankle began lightly tapping against his. _There's no way she's doing this unconsciously._ And with that, he took his seat and scooted a few inches away from her.

Libby glanced up at him with a suspicious look on her face, but when he went right back to his reading, she silently went back to hers. Jimmy breathed a soft sigh of relief, thinking that he'd managed to get out of range, but naturally he was wrong. Frustration welled within him as Cindy scooted right after him, her ankle once again tapping against his.

Thinking that all he needed to do was get far enough away, Jimmy began scooting again, with Cindy shortly behind. Growling in aggravation, he kept at it, and after the furious scraping of legs on floor had faded, Jimmy found himself sandwiched between Carl and Cindy.

"Um, hi Jimmy," Carl said, looking at him in confusion, and Jimmy glanced up, his anger and extreme irritation present on his face.

"Hi Carl," he said, his tone flat and annoyed, and Libby stood up suddenly.

"Okay, that does it!" she shouted, slamming her book closed. "I really hate to act like your mother, but when you decide to act like a bunch of children, you give me no other choice! Jimmy, get your things and move over there!"

"But-"

"Aht! I don't want to hear it! Just move!" she continued, pointing roughly at a table nearly hidden by bookshelves. "And Cindy, you move over there! I want the two of you as far apart as possible until the lunch bell rings! I'll come by a little before hand to see how much you've managed to accomplish!"

Feeling slightly better, as Cindy had gotten the same treatment as him, Jimmy moved to his new spot silently. He could hear the librarian chiding Libby quietly for her yelling, but she didn't seem too upset, as apparently she'd been watching him and Cindy disturb everyone.

_I guess she was just about to kick us out when Libby yelled at us,_ he thought as he took his seat and reopened his book. Maybe now he could actually get some work done…

* * *

As promised, Libby popped up about ten minutes before the lunch bell, and Jimmy showed her the notes he'd taken. She looked them over critically, her posture telling him that she was still angry, and he peered over at Cindy's table cautiously, trying to be absolutely sure she was still in her place. She was, and was absently twirling her pencil as she read.

"Hey, Libby, can I ask you something?" he began, keeping his voice low but above a whisper, which attracted attention. "And please keep your voice down and don't look at Cindy at all."

"Why not?" she asked, frowning at him, and his eyes darted from her to the blond girl.

"I wanted to ask if you know of Cindy eating anything strange last night," he said quietly and watched Libby blink. "I'm thinking that an adverse reaction occurred when a chemical in something she consumed mixed with the elements in the incense, causing this severe lapse of good judgment we're witnessing."

"Cindy didn't say anything about strange foods," Libby said, her gaze turning reflective as she thought. "But… I do feel like there's something I'm forgetting; it's been nagging at the back of my mind all day."

"Does it have to do with Cindy and the dance you guys did yesterday?" he asked, trying to help jog her memory, and she nodded. "And do you think it might explain why Cindy is acting so weird?"

"Yeah, I think so," Libby said, a light frown crossing her face. "I'm pretty sure it was something Natesa said right before we went on…"

"So you were changing, right? Was it about strange marks on Cindy's skin, similar to something you'd see in an allergic reaction?"

"Cindy isn't allergic to anything," Libby said with a roll of her eyes. "But yeah, I think we were changing. We went in, talked about our costumes, changed, talked about and put on our makeup and jewelry… _that's it!_" she exclaimed excitedly and Jimmy hissed at her, shooting worried looks at the librarian.

"I remember now," Libby continued, her voice back down to its low volume. "Cindy was wearing this really pretty necklace, but when Natesa saw her in it, she just about flipped. Apparently her mother had said something about a curse being placed on the necklace, and thus had never let anyone wear it."

"Then how was Cindy able to borrow it?" Jimmy asked, staring at Libby with a mixture of disbelief and annoyance. "This is dumb, Libby. A simple necklace wouldn't cause this kind of havoc." She gave him a look at that, forcing a sigh from him. "All right, so maybe it can. But there are no such things as curses; they're supernatural, and those kinds of things are impossible."

"That's what you said about the Phantom, remember?" she said and Jimmy grimaced slightly.

"Fine, I'll go check it out," he said at last, tearing a piece of paper from his notebook and handing it and his pencil to Libby. "Write down the address and I'll go over there at lunch. But I'm telling you, I'm not going to come up with anything."

"When you've ruled out everything else, all that remains is the truth, right?" Libby said as she wrote down the street and house number and he blinked at her. "That's what my grandma used to say, and it seems like it fits pretty well with this situation."

"Sherlock Holmes also said something similar," he said as he took the paper and studied it for a moment. "I should be back with time to spare, since they live so close. One last thing though; if I don't make it back before the final bell, and if Cindy for some reason isn't there either, I want you to tell the class something."

Libby raised an eyebrow curiously. "And what might that be?"

"Something that might help Cindy in the long run."

* * *

Jimmy bolted from the library the moment the bell rang, hoping to beat out all the other students and get to his hovercraft before the rush really got going. He raced over the school grounds and dodged opening doors, sliding a little over the wet tiles at the end of the hall. He had a feeling that Cindy was right behind him, but he hoped that if he got out early enough, she would be caught in the traffic and he would be long gone before she could catch him.

_Ha!_ He grinned as he entered the parking lot, whipping a remote from his backpack and disarming the security system on his hover car. After throwing his things in, he hoisted himself up and hopped into the driver's seat.

_Atomic batteries to power..._

He tapped his heel against the metal floor impatiently as he ran through his start up procedure; he punched several buttons, making lights flash as programs ran several safety diagnostics, and listened to the machinery slowly bring themselves into gear. If he didn't hurry, Cindy would be free to follow him…

_Turbines to speed..._

"And just where do you think you're going?"

Jimmy froze at the voice from behind him and he turned slowly to see Cindy sitting in her customary seat, her arms folded over her chest and her face set in a displeased expression. Her books sat beside her and her cheeks were flushed from running.

"How'd you get here so fast?" he asked, his mouth hanging open slightly in shock. No more than two minutes could've passed since he'd left the library…

"I saw you and Libby plotting something, though I wasn't absolutely sure until I saw you run out at the bell. Naturally I ran right after you," she said, her eyes narrowing slightly, and Jimmy let out a slightly nervous laugh. "I want to know what's going on, and I want to know right now." Her voice was no more than a low growl and he grimaced.

"Libby seems to think that the reason you're acting so strange is because of a curse," he said and Cindy raised a single eyebrow in disbelief. "I know, I think it sounds like absolute bunk too, but I promised her I'd go over to Natesa's house during lunch and check things out with her mom."

"If you're talking about the supposed curse on that necklace…"

"The very same," he said and turned back to his controls, taking note of several flashing lights demanding his attention. "So if you'll excuse me…"

"I'm coming," she said, a note of steel in her voice, and Jimmy frowned but knew better not to argue. He wasn't strong enough to push her out of the car, and besides: it would probably be better to have her with him. She knew Natesa's mother and he didn't, which gave him a better chance of getting in to talk with her.

_Plus in the rare event that there is something to this whole stupid curse thing, I'll be able to figure out a way to fix things on the spot._

"Fine," he said, trying to make his tone sound as unhappy as possible as he finished up the necessary preparations. "Just don't glom onto me or try to play that stupid footsie game or try to kiss me again, and things will be fine."

"You have my solemn oath," Cindy said, her tone dead serious, and when he glanced at her briefly, he found that she'd placed a hand over her heart.

"Hang on, we're leaving," he said and then punched a large green button beside the steering column, feeling the familiar hum around him as the large fan began spinning rapidly. After a moment, he tugged upwards on the steering wheel, and the craft rose smoothly into the air.

_And... liftoff.

* * *

_

Yes, yes, I know. Too short, right? Well, I'm sorry, but I thought this was a good place to stop. I'm aiming for ten chapters, and right now it looks like I'm going to make it. (crosses fingers for luck) Anyway, so how are you guys enjoying the story? I hope this chapter was funny mental-image wise, as my strong suit is not in comedy, but romance. I'm a hopeless romantic at heart, what can I say? So let me know what you think and what do you think is going to happen? Will he discover that there's an actual curse on the necklace? Or is it something else that's causing Cindy's behavior? Review and I'll love you forever.


	9. Wanted: One Solution, Inquire Within

Man, I'm taking less units this quarter, but I still have very little free time and it's so freaking absurd! Well, that's what I get, I suppose, for taking chemistry. But yeah, before I begin, I have to say a HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who has reviewed, despite my sporadic updating schedule right now! (Hugs for all y'all)

And now for something completely different: standard disclaimer still applies, thank you very much. I own no part of JN and never, ever will. If I did… (Grins while thinking about it) but I don't, so that's why I'm writing this story. Woo.

_To Cross the Rubicon_  
By: pottergal

Chapter Nine: Wanted: One Solution, Inquire Within

Only a few minutes had passed since leaving the school before Jimmy was setting the hovercraft down gently on the Ojufemi's lawn, and he and Cindy hopped out. He didn't bother setting the alarm, figuring that they'd only be staying a few minutes, and he followed Cindy up to the front door. She rang the doorbell and the two of them stood in an uncomfortable silence until a middle aged woman opened the door curiously.

"Cindy?"

Jimmy could only assume that the woman was Natesa's mother, as she had similar facial characteristics, but he couldn't believe how short and petite she was. She stood only about a head taller than Cindy, which was rather small for an adult woman.

"What on earth are you doing here, dear?" she asked, her tone warm but confused, and Jimmy tried to smile when her deep blue eyes flicked in his direction. "Shouldn't you be in school? And who's your friend?"

"I'm really sorry for disturbing you, Mrs. Ojufemi, but apparently it was urgent," Cindy said, glancing at him briefly. "This is my friend Jimmy Neutron from school and he wanted to ask you some questions about the necklace I wore for the dance."

Jimmy nodded as he watched the woman blink and look at him, realization flooding her features. He frowned inwardly at that; what had she just reacted to? His name, or the fact that he wanted to know about the necklace?

"Of course," she said, a halting note in her voice making his frown deepen. "Please come inside and have a seat on the couch in the living room. I'll go get the necklace for you." She stepped from the door way as she spoke and gestured to the depths of her house, holding the door open for them.

"Thank you for humoring him," Cindy said as they entered and Jimmy shot her a small glare. "He seems to think that I'm under the curse that was placed on the necklace." She laughed a little, but Mrs. Ojufemi merely uttered a small sound of assent and vanished up the stairs.

"Is she always like that?" Jimmy asked as they settled stiffly into the large leather couch, slightly on edge from the unfamiliarity of their surroundings.

"I'm not too sure," Cindy said, frowning slightly. "She never was distant during all our rehearsals; maybe something happened to distract her?"

_Or there's more to this whole curse thing than either of us wants to admit_, he thought grimly, looking around to pass the time. The Ojufemi household floor plan was similar enough to his own, being that most of the track houses in their neighborhood had been built by the same company with the same blueprint. The only difference was the décor, and Jimmy had to admit that this place was more appealing, if less functional, than his own home.

The house was elegantly decorated in warm tones of burgundy, tan, and black, as opposed to the cool blues and greens of his home, and it boasted a distinct Egyptian and Eastern influence. There was an ebony silk screen decorated with white cranes and cherry blossoms that sat in a corner by the window, and countless knickknacks were scattered around the room, littering the tables and shelves. A corner bookshelf made from beautiful mahogany showcased many of them, and a large beveled mirror hung over the fireplace across from Jimmy. It was a far cry from the stark yet hardy place he lived in, but he supposed his mother had little desire to decorate when his inventions had the tendency to destroy things.

"She sure is taking a while," he muttered as he glanced at Cindy, who was absently touching the large bouquet of red roses that sat on the end table beside her.

"She probably forgot where she put the necklace," she responded before looking at him and smiling gently. She edged closer, which set off his instinctive warnings instantly, and he sat up straighter, preparing to flee from the couch. "What were you going to do for lunch, Jimmy? I brought extra food, if you're interested…"

"Um," he said, hating how stupid he'd just sounded. He couldn't seem to form a coherent thought anymore, especially when she looked at him like that, with her green eyes all hopeful and enchanting…

_Get a grip!_

Jimmy shook himself slightly before finally responding. "If this doesn't take much longer, I'll stop by my home and get something," he said, watching as Cindy looked away, her disappointment as clear as day. He winced at the crestfallen expression on her face, suddenly feeling extremely guilty. She'd only been trying to be nice, and she hadn't hugged him or tried to kiss him…

_Gas planets! Hang me for being such a pushover!_

"But if it does, then I guess I wouldn't mind sharing what you brought," he said, looking away as she brightened, her eyes shining happily. He jumped slightly when she took his hand in hers, her grip tightening in a gentle squeeze, and when he glanced at her, his brain froze again at the look on her face. It was a soft smile, illuminated sweetly by the sun pouring through the window, and for the briefest of instances he swore that she was one of the most beautiful things he'd ever seen.

"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."

Mrs. Ojufemi's voice startled him from the trance he'd been in and he jerked away from Cindy as the woman entered the living room. She carried a small jewelry box and a rather large book, and she set them both on the coffee table before sitting in one of the armchairs that flanked the fireplace.

"I remembered something my great grandmother gave me along with the necklace and I thought it might be useful to you," she continued, and Jimmy decided that she looked distinctly nervous. "I believe it details everything about the necklace, from when it was made to the nature of its strange powers."

"So there is a curse on it then?" Jimmy asked, and a small wince from her told him he'd accurately discerned the cause of her discomfort. He plucked both the book and the case from the coffee table as he spoke, setting them on his lap.

"I didn't think there was," Mrs. Ojufemi said, her tone slightly defensive, and he opened the case to reveal the necklace Cindy had worn yesterday. "I wore it once a few months ago without experiencing anything, so I figured it was safe to lend it to her." She looked over at Cindy as she spoke, eyeing the girl curiously. "But what has happened to make you think she's cursed? I don't see anything different about her."

"She thinks she's in love with me," Jimmy said matter-of-factly as he shut the case and opened the book.

"I don't merely think so," Cindy snapped as he turned the cover page carefully; the book was yellowed with age and smelled faintly pungent. "I know I love you. How many times must I repeat myself until you believe me?"

"The more you say it, Cindy _dear_, the more I think you've lost your mind," he said, throwing her a look before frowning down at the book. It was written entirely in hieroglyphs and was accompanied by fading drawings done in traditional Egyptian style.

"Where exactly did this book come from, Mrs. Ojufemi?" he asked as he turned another page. "And can you tell me anything about the curse that was supposedly placed on this necklace?"

"That's what the book is for," the woman said, and Jimmy caught trace amounts of a smile on her face. "You'll have to forgive me, but that book has been passed down from generation to generation in my family. I think my great grandmother knew how to read some of it, but as you can see, it's in rather bad condition; no one has been taking care of it. I've been meaning to take it somewhere and have it translated, as I can't read Egyptian to save my life, but I haven't found a place within a reasonable driving radius."

"I can translate this easily," Jimmy said as he shut the book. "So am I correct in assuming that you know nothing aside from the fact that the necklace may or may not be cursed?"

"You are," Mrs. Ojufemi responded, looking away regretfully, and he furrowed his brow in thought.

"Did your great grandmother say anything at all about the curse itself? Or did she just tell you that the necklace must never be worn?" He'd been hoping to get some useful information to work with, and everything he'd learned so far wasn't helping at all.

"The latter," Mrs. Ojufemi said, sounding slightly embarrassed. "I only met her once, and that was when she gave these things to me. She also told me the story behind the necklace, and the gist of it was that Isis, wanting to punish some of her more vain followers, had this necklace created and sent to Earth, where it caused much confusion and suffering."

"Interesting," he murmured, frowning in thought. Perhaps there was something more plausible behind the necklace after all, but to be absolutely certain, he was going to have to run a few tests. "You don't mind if I take both the book and the necklace, do you? I'd like to study both back at my lab."

"Not at all," she responded, her lips curving in a small smile. "From the looks of it, the curse is one that makes the wearer fall for someone, and I figured that you'd want to take them for further analysis. You are the genius everyone talks about, after all."

"Thank you," he said graciously as he stood, noticing that Cindy had rolled her eyes before standing as well. "I'll be sure to return both of these when I'm done." The woman nodded and stood, intending to show them out. They headed for the door, thanked Mrs. Ojufemi for her time, and made to leave.

"Wait one moment, Jimmy," Mrs. Ojufemi said softly once Cindy had walked out the door, and Jimmy paused to look up at her. She crouched slightly so that they were eye to eye and she smiled. "I thought you ought to know that you were all Cindy ever seemed to focus on during our practices; I don't think I've ever seen anyone so driven before."

Jimmy laughed nervously before responding. "We do have the tendency to compete quite viciously…" Mrs. Ojufemi laughed a little and placed a hand gently on his shoulder.

"I'm just saying that there might be something more behind her actions than you may realize," she said before winking and standing. "Off you go now; you have a necklace to examine, don't you?"

"Yeah," he said, slightly confused, but he stepped out of the house and made his way over to the hover car.

"What'd she want?" Cindy asked as they hopped into the vehicle and Jimmy initiated the startup sequence. He waved at Mrs. Ojufemi in farewell before responding.

"To wish me luck," he lied, feeling that what the woman had told him had been intended for his ears only. "She said that she hoped everything worked out and asked if I would give her a copy of the translated text."

"Oh," Cindy said simply as they lifted off and Jimmy plotted a course for his lab. He wanted to get the book in a vacuum to help preserve it until he had a chance to set up a program to translate it, which would be after school. He hated working with delicate items, as they had a tendency to crumble, and he had a feeling that if left much longer, the book would revert to dust.

"So you believe her then?" Cindy asked suddenly, jarring him from his mental planning. "You think I'm under some kind of crazy curse?"

He glanced at her over his shoulder to find her watching houses go by, her expression pensive and slightly sad. Some part of him gave a guilty twinge and he squashed it before it could grow.

"Listen, I'm not sure what to believe right now," he said, turning his attention back to the road. "Part of me is still convinced that you're doing this just for kicks while another part of me is trying to think up different chemical imbalances that might cause this sort of situation."

"Leave it to you to reduce love to something as unromantic as a stupid chemical imbalance," he heard her mutter, and could see her resting her chin in her hand glumly. "When we were talking to Mrs. Ojufemi you sure sounded convinced that it was a curse," she added and he sighed.

"I find that it's easier to extract the needed information from someone if you listen to what they have to say before trying to disprove it," he said and he heard her snort softly.

"And you do this when exactly?" she asked and he turned to her in disbelief. Was she back to normal? But no, her teasing grin told him that she was still lacking that better judgment of hers.

"More often than you think," he grumbled as he turned back to the road, and tensed when she embraced him from behind, her chin coming to rest on his shoulder.

"Because my Jimmy isn't a stuck up egotist at all," she whispered and giggled softly when he tried his best to wiggle out of her grip while remaining in control of the hover car at the same time.

"Cindy, you promised," he said sternly and felt her look at him. "You promised you wouldn't glom onto me!"

"And I'm not," she said and he stared at her. "This is called 'draping', Jimmy dearest. I've draped myself over you." He muttered several curses as his hands tightened around the steering wheel, and Cindy giggled again.

"Fine then! No draping, no hugging, no touching me! Period, end of story, case closed!" he said, his voice rising steadily in annoyance, and she sighed before removing her arms and returning to her seat. "Thank you!"

"Aren't you a stiff," she said, her tone light and teasing. "Any normal guy would be thrilled to have a cute girl fawning all over him." He threw a glare over his shoulder and she grinned at him.

"Since we've established that I'm as far from normal as possible, I think it's safe to say that I don't find the appeal in it," he shot back and heard her click her tongue slightly.

"I bet you wouldn't be complaining if it were Betty Quinlan," she said, her tone both light and bitter, and he began sputtering denials.

"What makes you think…? I wouldn't! I don't like her like that; it's just a friendly admiration! You're crazy! I don't like girls yet!" But the look on Cindy's face clearly said she wasn't buying it. "What makes you think that I like her that way?"

"You might as well wear a sign, Jimmy," she said as she rolled her eyes, and he shifted in his seat embarrassedly. "You turn into a drooling fanboy whenever you see her, and instead of stopping you while you still have some dignity left, she just lets you make a complete idiot of yourself."

"That bothers you?" he asked in disbelief and she gave him a look.

"Jimmy, do you know how hard it is to sit by and watch as the one you love makes a complete and total doofus of himself?" She sounded so pained that he had trouble believing that she was lying. "I know that I'd always try to bring you out of it, but it's funny. I can't seem to remember how I'd do it."

It was his turn to roll his eyes. "That one's easy: you insult me enough to infuriate me." Cindy shook her head at that, waving her hand slightly in dismissal.

"That's impossible, Jimmy. I've already told you that I couldn't be horrible to you," she said and he groaned softly, his head tilting back in his frustration. "I love you too much to hurt you like that."

"Okay, stop that."

"Stop what?"

"Stop saying you love me!"

"But it's true. Why should I stop saying it?"

"Because I don't need to be reminded that you've lost your mind, that's why!"

"I haven't lost my mind! And it seems I need to remind you as much as possible, so I can beat it into your thick skull just how much I care!"

"ARG!"

Jimmy couldn't take it any longer, and it was a good thing that they'd reached his lab. Setting down the hover car, he put it on standby and turned in his chair to face Cindy, who looked about as frazzled as he felt.

"Let's make a deal, all right? Both of us are annoyed beyond belief by the other," he began and held up a hand when she opened her mouth to protest. "Don't try to tell me that my constant uncertainty of your sanity isn't bothering you." She looked away guiltily at that. "So here's my proposal: both of us will stop saying the phrase that most exasperates the other. Sound satisfactory?"

"How long does it stand?"

"I don't know, until I figure something out?"

Cindy looked thoughtful for a moment, but soon held out her hand and smiled. "I'll stop if you will."

"Deal," he said and they shook on it. He then grabbed the book and the case before vaulting over the side of the car and jogging up to the entrance to his lab.

"You know something, Jimmy?" Cindy called, and he turned to find her watching him with a soft look, her chin resting on her folded arms, which sat on the railing of the car. "That's another thing that I really lo-" She cut herself off with an apologetic smile and then continued. "I mean, I really like about you. You always have a solution to the problem, no matter how difficult things get."

He blinked at her for a moment, working through what she'd said, and he couldn't stop the small smile that rose to his lips.

"Thanks," he said before vanishing into his lab and giving himself a good mental shake. What was happening to him? It was like he was getting used to this new Cindy. First he'd lost it at the Ojufemi household, and then just now…

_Focus!_ He told himself sharply. He had to figure out a solution to this whole mess so that he could turn Cindy back to normal. Imagining her stuck as the hug-happy Jimmy-fanatic she was now gave him chills.

_Wait a second. Why would that be bad? Don't you enjoy having her fawn all over you?_ Part of him asked and he told it roughly to shut up. Of course it was bad! And no, he most certainly did _not_ enjoy having Cindy throw herself at him! It wasn't just Cindy either; he'd do a double take if any girl just started announcing her undying love for him. The only reason he'd reacted like he had… well, it was Cindy, and she wasn't supposed to do those kinds of things. Besides, his instincts were telling him that whatever had caused this nightmare of a situation hadn't given Cindy a choice in the matter, and that in itself was wrong.

_Nick was right. Cindy wouldn't continuously spout proclamations of love or give me compliments of her own free will. And she certainly wouldn't share her lunch..._ It was up to him to correct things and make sure that the old Cindy was returned, even if it meant putting up with her insults.

"I have a sense of right and wrong, thank you," he muttered as he entered the main chamber of his lab, pressing a few buttons on the main console to bring things back from their low-power mode. The lights brightened slightly and the main screen flickered to life.

"Goddard!" he called and was rewarded with a happy bark from another room. It was only a few minutes before his dog came bounding towards him, wagging his little tail happily.

"Hey there, nice to see you too," he said as he bent down and patted Goddard's metallic head, laughing when he was rewarded with a happy lick on his cheek. "I can't stay long, boy, as we have to be back for class soon, but I need to store something in one of the vacuum units. Do you remember where we put them?"

Goddard gave a short series of barks before bounding off to the other room. Jimmy followed behind shortly to find his dog tugging the large unit (which was actually an old converted dryer) from one of the many closets.

"Thanks, boy," he said, patting Goddard's head again, and found the nearest outlet to plug it in to. A faint hum rewarded him for his efforts, and after carefully placing the book inside the unit, he shut the front door and set the vacuum level.

"While I'm gone, I want you run some x-ray tests on the necklace in that case. I want to make sure that it's just a stone and some metal." Goddard barked once as they headed back to the main room, and Jimmy patted his head one last time before making his way back outside.

"Come on, Jimmy! We've only got ten minutes left of lunch!" Cindy called when he emerged from the lab, blinking in the sunlight.

"All right, all right! I'm coming!" he called in response and hopped into the hover car, bringing it back from standby.

"Hey, Jimmy? How many demerits is a tardy worth?" Cindy asked as they lifted smoothly from the ground and he sent her a slightly confused look. "It's been so long since my last one that I've forgotten."

"I think it's either two or three, but I'm not sure," he said as he began plotting a course back to school. "Why? What were you thinking?"

"Well, since we've wasted most of our lunch break, I suggest that we go on a picnic," she said and he shook his head, his face settling into a stern frown.

"Uh-uh, no way Cindy," he said, tensing as she slid up into the seat next to him. "I'm not going on any picnic with you, and besides. I'm not hungry."

"Oh really?" she asked mildly, his stomach choosing that perfect moment to growl loudly. "Please, Jimmy? It'll be a lot of fun, and I know you've got all the gear for a perfect picnic in the park." She was leaning closer steadily as she spoke, her expression set in a dewy-eyed plea.

"Please?"

He'd been chewing on the inside of his cheek, trying his hardest to resist her, but her look had slowly melted down every line of defense he had. It had been that final pitiful appeal that had really done him in, her soft, whispery voice turning his insides to jelly and making him wonder where on Earth she'd gotten this kind of power.

_Maybe it comes naturally to women,_ he thought darkly as he sighed heavily in defeat.

"Which park?" he grumbled and her squeal of delight made him cringe.

"One that's nice and deserted," she said, and he blinked when she began pressing a few buttons on the dashboard.

_What?_ His mouth fell open slightly when a radar screen appeared before her and began running scans on the surrounding area. _How in the world did she know what to do?_

"In case you were wondering," she said, as though she'd heard his thoughts, "I've watched you do this enough that it comes automatically." She gave him a smile before placing a hand under his chin and shutting his mouth gently. "As cute as you are when you're astounded, I really don't think it's a good idea to have your mouth hanging open when you're driving."

"So, um…" he said as he turned back to the road, trying to collect his scattered thoughts. "Which park is it?"

"Retroville Gardens," she said, giggling faintly, and he punched in their new destination, trying hard not to think about the coming meal. He had a sick, sinking feeling that it was going to be the worst picnic of his young life…

* * *

So there you have it, a chapter filled with some light fluff. I'm trying my hardest not to make Jimmy out of character (Cindy is already out of character due to something, so there's no trying there), and hopefully I'm succeeding. I've crossed my fingers and bought out a good luck charm store, so that might be just enough to make me successful. It's up to you guys to decide, right? Tell me if Jimmy seems plausible, given the situation, and if he doesn't, I'll have to fix it some how. : 

Anyway, how do you like the story's latest development? And do you think Jimmy will discover the necklace's true nature? Or is he chasing a wild goose? (Grins evilly) Review and I'll love you forever!


	10. The Hunt Begins in Earnest

sigh... School is never going to let up and I am going to have to fight in order to have any kind of free time. At least, that's my excuse for this chapter being so dang late… Anyway, thanks to everyone who has reviewed! I'm stunned to see that I have 91 reviews (at least this was the number the last time I checked) and to Cutie5, I'm sorry that I didn't respond to your review in the last chapter, but I wouldn't mind being email buddies or whatever. :P I warn you though, my email is screwed up half the time because of reasons that would take WAY too long to explain here, so if I don't respond right away or if the email gets bounced back… don't worry. It'll get to me eventually.

As much as I hate to repeat myself, standard disclaimers still apply. I don't own JN, never will, and can't even hope to. I'm just borrowing the characters for a short period of time and it's all for my own personal enjoyment, not for profits. Woo.

_To Cross the Rubicon_  
By: pottergal

Chapter Ten: The Hunt Begins in Earnest

Jimmy sat in his lab, typing away on the keyboard, his eyes focused intently upon the main screen. He was reviewing the x-rays Goddard had done on the necklace and as more time passed, the more perplexed he became; he wasn't finding anything that matched what he'd been expecting. And as for that…

_Mrs. Ojufemi mentioned that the necklace supposedly came from space. What better explanation than alien technology?_ But none of the x-rays showed an abnormal infrastructure imbedded within the intertwined silver, and the jewel appeared to be a simple emerald. No sinister computer chip lay implanted within its bottle green depths and no foreign mind control technology could be found.

"Goddard," he called over his shoulder and heard the dog's distinctive trot as he bounded up to Jimmy. "I need to work on the translation program. While I'm doing that, I'd like you to run some more tests on the necklace; I need to be sure that the metal is a classifiable element or alloy and that the jewel is a known stone. Can you do this for me?"

Goddard gave a happy bark of assent before extending one of his manipulators and taking the necklace. Jimmy watched him leave, his mind miles away as he struggled to think of other possible explanations. He knew that whatever was behind the mysterious powers of the necklace certainly wasn't a supernatural power. There was no way it could be!

And besides, the style of necklace wasn't even Egyptian. It matched more with the Northern European design, specifically the Celts, and how it had gotten to Egypt in the first place was a mystery he couldn't even begin to fathom.

_The more I think about it, the less this whole thing makes sense, and the more I wonder if I'm being led on by Cindy,_ he thought somewhat angrily as he turned back to the main screen, his brow furrowing in a frown. She had to be using the curse as a spring board to cause problems for him, she just had to be! There wasn't any other answer that made sense!

_Problems? Please,_ his mind piped up. _Some part of you is enjoying this special treatment, admit it!_

He snorted softly at that, rolling his eyes, but he did concede that under normal circumstances, he would enjoy such treatment.

_And who wouldn't? Going on a private picnic with a pretty girl, being treated like you were royalty... what's _not_ to enjoy?_

"Well, the food had been pretty good…" he admitted grudgingly.

Wait! What was he thinking? Cindy wasn't a pretty girl, _Betty_ was a pretty girl! And no, he had not enjoyed that picnic! It had been an hour of pure torture, with him sitting on the very edge of the blanket and picking at the food he was given, half wondering if it were stuffed with some kind of harmful drug. Cindy had finally given up trying to reason with him and eaten her food in silence before vanishing into one of the many hedge mazes. He'd then spent the next forty-five minutes trying to locate her in one of them, as even though he could solve them easily, she was content to merely hide herself until he found her.

_Lucky my hover car has a sophisticated radar system,_ he thought as he began to design the translation program, typing out the complex commands for the computer to follow. _Otherwise we might still be in there, me chasing her around corners and then wondering where in the name of Tesla she'd gone to._

So things could've gone a tad smoother, he grudgingly admitted, and he could've enjoyed himself more. But… no matter how hard he'd tried, he just couldn't get past the fact that it was _Cindy_ who he was talking and joking with, and miracle of miracles, even laughing with. It was _Cindy_ who was shyly offering to feed him fruit, like something out of a pastoral fairy tale. He'd half expected to see pink flower petals drifting softly through the air and hear light classical music the moment she'd proffered a grape for him to eat.

The whole situation hadn't sat well with him, to say the least, and his half-forced reluctance had ruined any nice moment they might've shared.

He sighed at that, his fingers pausing on the keyboard as he stared glumly into space. There had been some definite moments, if they could be called that, as contrary to popular belief, he did like being around Cindy. Normally it was only during those rare times when she decided to be nice to him, and those tended to be few and far between. But maybe it was the flash of spontaneity coupled with the knowledge that it wouldn't last that made him savor those occasions so much and made them so special.

_And she lied for you, don't forget that._

She certainly had, covering up their gross tardy with a cleverly forged note that stated they'd been in the public library doing research. Miss Fowl had seemed deeply suspicious of it, studying it several times before finally accepting it, but the rest of class had passed without incident. Libby had given him a small nod upon seeing him, letting him know that she'd done her part, and it made him breathe a small sigh of relief. He knew it would help keep everyone off his back and people wouldn't think anything of Cindy's strange actions.

_I don't care how much Cindy denies it, but her behavior is exceedingly abnormal. The only way to keep people from blaming me for this mess is to tell them that it's all just a joke,_ he thought as he went over some of the finer points in his program, double checking several of the trickier commands.

"Jimmy?"

Cindy's call shook him from his task and he turned to find her leading Libby, Sheen, and Carl into the main room of his lab. He was about to ask how they'd gotten in without him when his gaze fell on his hair brush, which Cindy waved at him accusingly.

"You know, Jimmy, if you really didn't want people to get in here you'd think about installing a retinal print scanner instead of a DNA one," she said, setting his brush on the nearest workbench. "I know you already have one on your locker, and that way you won't have to rip out your hair whenever you want to enter."

"Cindy, when do Jimmy's actions make sense?" Libby said with a roll of her eyes and sat on a nearby stool. "I'll tell you when, and that is rarely."

"I'll overlook that one," Jimmy said, shooting Libby with a small irked look. "But insult me again, when I'm trying to help your best friend, and I'll have to ask you to leave."

Libby raised both eyebrows at that while sharing a look with Cindy. "What happened to you?" she asked as she turned back to him. "You've certainly got some bees up in your bonnet." Jimmy felt his cheek twitch and Libby held up a finger. "And that wasn't an insult, it was a fact."

"Fine," he said, hopping from his chair and walking to the container where the book had been set up. He'd taken it from the vacuum once he'd gotten home from school and placed it in an automatic scanner, which would systematically scan each page and then transfer them to the main computer for analysis. There his translation program would take over, logically filling in the gaps created by faded ink before spitting out a coherent version of the text.

"So did you find anything yet?" Libby asked and he sighed.

"No," he muttered as he switched on the scanner and turned back to them. "There's nothing unusual about the necklace so far, and I have Goddard running some more tests on it to make sure that the materials are indeed from this world."

"What? You mean you think the necklace is extra… extraterr…" Sheen started, fumbling over a word, and Jimmy sighed a little, his eyes glancing at the ceiling briefly.

"Extraterrestrial?" he supplied and Sheen nodded a few times.

"Yeah, that one!" Sheen exclaimed before continuing. "You think it's extraterr-whatever in origin?"

"It's a distinct possibility, considering that Mrs. Ojufemi told us that the necklace was supposedly sent from Isis, and that it came from the heavens," he said as he glanced at the main screen, silently monitoring the progress made by the program. "I'm not ruling out anything as of yet."

"You seem to have ruled out 'curse'," Libby said and Jimmy threw her another look. "Don't you give me any attitude; I already know that you think it's a bunch of mumbo jumbo. But I'm thinking that maybe something you can't explain with all your mighty fine science is causing Cindy to act all psycho."

"That's preposterous," he said, shaking his head slightly. "Everything can be explained by science, from ghosts to Loch Ness monsters to silly little curses. We went to that tomb twice, didn't we? And are we dead?"

He looked at everyone briefly before continuing. "No, we most certainly are not!"

"But we almost got killed the first time!" Libby shot back. "Whose to say that it wasn't that curse making your electro-life thingy bring those zombies back from the dead?"

"That was just a bad coincidence," he retorted. "A curse couldn't have set those events in motion because _it doesn't exist_! Might I remind you that pain _didn't_ erupt from our every pore?"

Libby made a sound of disgust as he adopted a rather mocking tone to his voice and she folded her arms over her chest. "You know, I'm glad my momma expects me home in an hour. I can't take much more of your closed mind."

"If you're through arguing over what has caused my supposed lapse in sanity," Cindy's exasperated voice made them both turn to her and she glared darkly at him and Libby. "I think Goddard has something to report."

Jimmy turned his dog at that and found him waiting patiently beside Cindy, the necklace in one of his manipulators.

"Well? Did you find anything, boy?" he asked and his stomach sank when Goddard regretfully shook his head. He handed over the necklace, safe in its case, as well as a thick stack of papers. After leafing through some of the top sheets, Jimmy quickly realized that they were the printouts from all the different tests Goddard had run.

"I rest my case," Libby said, holding her hands out dramatically, and Jimmy frowned down at the papers.

"I don't understand," he muttered, running through the results of the analysis done on the gem. "There're no strange emissions emanating from the jewel, no unusual chemical residues, no nothing. This doesn't make sense!"

"It doesn't make sense because science can't explain real-life curses," Libby said triumphantly, raising her chin slightly.

"Jim, could you take the necklace away? I don't wanna be cursed," Carl whimpered and Jimmy felt his cheek twitch again.

"Oh for cryin' in mud… It's not cursed!" he snapped, a bit more viciously than he intended, and Carl cowered behind Libby, who was glaring at him. "Curses are a physical impossibility. There's no scientific proof that an outside supernatural force can influence anything!"

"Then what about spoon bending?" Cindy asked innocently. "How do you explain people who theoretically can channel energy to bend a spoon?"

"They're the ones doing it with their hands, even though they don't realize it! It's like that Ouija board game, where you're the one really moving the piece, though you do it without knowing! There've been studies to prove it!"

"But there've also been scientific studies done about the paranormal," she said, making him mentally roll his eyes. "I'd read that many scientists, after reviewing studies done to test psychic ability, come to the conclusion that the results are significant enough to warrant further investigation," Cindy continued and he glared at her.

"If you can name one prominent scientist who supports that," he began, setting aside Goddard's results and handing the necklace back to the mechanical dog, "I swear not to set foot in my lab for a month."

"This is stupid," Libby snapped, hopping from the stool and giving Jimmy a look. "It doesn't matter if they're prominent or not. Cindy's point was that scientists are indeed researching the supernatural and finding proof that there is something worth studying. Why don't you just admit that this is something you're probably not going to be able to explain?"

Jimmy glared at her silently before turning to Goddard. "Run those tests again," he said, making Libby groan in frustration. "Repetition insures accuracy, so I'd like you to repeat them. I'll be there in a moment to help."

"Okay, fine. Obviously my input means nothing," Libby said before turning to Cindy. "I would love to stay, being your best friend and all, but I just can't take much more of this. You want to join me for some ice cream at the Candy Bar?"

Cindy glanced from Libby to him, biting her lip in deliberation, but soon she sighed and looked away. "Sure. We didn't get to hang at lunch," she said, nodding slightly.

"Great! Then you can fill me in on where you really were," Libby said, finally sounding happy, and the two of them began to make their way to the exit. Just before the door closed behind them, Cindy looked at him over her shoulder, her face holding an expression Jimmy didn't have time to identify.

"That went well," Sheen said as Jimmy frowned slightly in thought, trying to place the emotion. Was it… reluctance? Or perhaps guilt? Maybe she felt guilty for putting him through so much… "I think I've learned what _not_ to say to Libby, and I have Jimmy to thank for it."

"Yeah," Carl added, "who knew Libby could argue just like Cindy."

No, it wasn't guilt, he decided. It was more like she'd wanted to stay with him, but felt honor bound to spend at least some of her time with her friend…

"Maybe someone just has to disagree with him, so Libby is just stepping up to the plate in Cindy's absence."

Yes, that was it. Her eyes had held unmistakable longing, like she'd been hoping he would step in and tell her to stay.

"You think so?" Carl asked. "What do you think would happen if neither Libby nor Cindy argued with Jimmy?"

"Then I guess the only person left with enough brain power to spar with Jimmy's intellect would be Ultralord," Sheen said, triumphantly holding up one of his many action figures. "He'd fry Jimmy mentally in a matter of seconds, just like he did to the Cervians in episode three hundred and twenty-two, who were trying to use their massive brains for great evil!"

Jimmy finally tuned into the ensuing conversation between Carl and Sheen, and when Sheen started describing just how Ultralord had destroyed the Cervians, he felt a flash of annoyance. As if some stupid fictional cartoon character was really going to beat him in a battle of intelligence…

"Was that the episode where he has to ride a Cervian goat to safety once the planet got blown up?" Carl asked, frowning slightly.

"Yeah, how'd you know?" Sheen asked suspiciously. "It's an extremely rare episode, and you have to buy it to be able to see it!"

"Because they're always showing it and citing it for animal cruelty on the Llama Channel," Carl explained. "The Cervian goat was actually a llama that they painted blue."

"Are you serious! They're constantly showing it on your dumb channel? This is an outrage! How can it be a rare episode if it's always on!" Sheen exclaimed, gesturing wildly and his face set in a dark frown. "Give me the address of your station's guy in charge! I have to write a letter explaining how horribly they throw off the Ultralord market by showing that episode!"

"But it's the only episode with a llama in it," Carl said, sounding slightly panicked. "There aren't any other Ultralord episodes that have one!"

"Then find a different show to exploit!"

"Guys, could you stop it?" Jimmy finally cut in, as he'd been steadily growing more and more annoyed the longer their conversation continued. He'd tried ignoring them, but he'd found it nearly impossible to disengage himself from their exchange.

Both Carl and Sheen turned to Jimmy, their eyes blinking in slight confusion, and he looked from one to the other before continuing.

"Look, maybe it would be better if I did this research on my own," he said carefully, working hard to keep his irritation from showing in his voice, and Carl and Sheen looked at each other before nodding a little. It wasn't the first time Jimmy had asked them to let him study something alone, and they had a feeling it wouldn't be the last.

"Good luck, Jim," Carl called as they walked to the door, Sheen starting up where he'd left off.

"See you later, Jimmy," Sheen added before grilling Carl over the llama episode of Ultralord. Their discussion faded slowly away, leaving Jimmy surrounded by the faint hum of his lab at work. The computer beeped occasionally, signaling its progress with the book, but it was slow going, as it had to fill in a decent amount of gaps from where either the paper had degraded or the ink had faded.

He sighed a little before plopping back down in his chair and resting his forehead against the cool metal of the keyboard. What was wrong with him? Normally he would welcome Carl and Sheen's banter, finding it amusing. It almost provided him with a relief of sorts, like a way to ground himself after spending so much time focused on science. Sure, he did put a stop to it when it became a problem for his focus, but he'd never felt so… so _fed up_ with it before.

Libby had certainly been right about one thing; he was much more irritable than usual, taking what would be normal comments personally. He couldn't quite explain why he suddenly felt like everyone was going out of their way to insult or bother him, but he had a feeling it was coming from the way he was constantly on guard over Cindy. Being that tense for the entire day had to be influencing him in more ways than he realized… and it didn't help that he was no closer to solving the situation than he'd been earlier in the day.

A soft whine of concern made him lift his head and he found Goddard standing close beside him, his metal head tilting slightly to one side.

"Hey, boy," he said softly, reaching out and resting a hand on top of Goddard's head. "I'm okay, really. I've just got a lot on my mind right now."

Goddard nuzzled at Jimmy's hand before whining again in a way that distinctly asked if he wanted to talk about it. He sighed slightly at that, frowning a little in thought. Did he?

"I don't know what's happened to me, boy," he said at last, his gaze drifting absently around his lab. "I feel so… so confused and flustered and…" Goddard whined sympathetically and Jimmy shut his eyes. "I'm starting to feel like I won't ever get Cindy back to normal, and that really bothers me."

Goddard barked a little, tilting his head in question and Jimmy shrugged in response.

"Why does it bother me? I don't know, I really don't," he said, opening his eyes and silently scanning the main screen, but not registering anything he'd read. "I mean, it shouldn't, right? This new Cindy is as nice as pie and I suppose that if I let go of all my preconceptions about her, we'd get along perfectly. I think what's really bothering me is that I can't seem to find an answer that fits."

"I hate feeling helpless, Goddard," he said softly, his hands clenching slightly. "There's an explanation for everything, so why can't I find one for this situation?"

Goddard barked before gently nipping at Jimmy's sleeve to pull him from the chair. He tugged Jimmy to his feet before giving him a nudge towards the other room, silently telling him that if he wanted a solution that badly, he needed to work at it.

_He's right,_ Jimmy thought as he began to walk, feeling slightly better. It wasn't much, but it was a start, and if he focused, he could solve anything. He knew he could.

* * *

A few hours later Jimmy shuffled back to the main room of his lab, feeling once again frustrated and disheartened beyond belief. He'd run tests until finally he had to just take a step back and stop; it had been getting to the point where he'd repeated the test so many times that he was getting sloppy in his actions. If it hadn't been for Goddard's alarmed bark, he might've melted the necklace in his attempt to run one of the tests again.

_I'll go over what the computer has translated so far,_ he thought as he collapsed into his chair, feeling both mentally and physically exhausted. After interrupting the program, he opened the saved files and sat back as he prepared to read.

_Here lies a detailed account of the powers of the Isis Amulet, sent to punish the wicked, blah, blah, blah..._ Jimmy read silently, skimming over the lengthy introduction until he reached the explanation of the curse. And what he read was almost enough to make him stare blankly at the screen in shock.

"Jumping Jupiter…" he whispered. "It can't be…"

* * *

Hm, bad place to stop? Well, tough, because this chapter is already long enough. But woo hoo! I've made it to ten chapters, and I think that the next one is going to be the last. I'm not promising anything, however, because originally I'd intended this one to be the last, and look what happened. I just keep drawing it out and drawing it out…

Anyway, what do you think is going to happen? Will Jimmy finally find the answer he so desperately wants? And why is this story listed under romance if there hasn't really been any so far? Stay tuned and find out!


	11. Secrets Revealed

MAJOR SIGH… I can't believe how long it's been since I updated this and I am SO sorry to all of my readers and reviewers. School has been a royal pain in the rear and then my family decided to go on a month long vacation, so this is the first I've been on a computer in AGES. (grovel grovel grovel) I'm not worthy of my devoted readers, who sent me emails begging me to continue, but fear not! This will be continued. Anyway, enough of my blather. Go read!

Standard disclaimer still applies and so forth, la. I stake no claim to JN and do not wish to be sued. Now on with the story, woo.

_To Cross the Rubicon_  
By: pottergal

Chapter Eleven: Secrets Revealed

"Jimmy?"

He turned slowly in his chair at the sound of his name being called, quickly sending the program back to work, but leaving the file he'd been reading open. To his surprise, he found Cindy standing in the doorway, her hands clasped together and her eyes fixed on him apprehensively.

"How'd you get back in here?" he asked, standing, and she took a few steps into the room hesitantly.

"I kept some hair for your brush, thinking I might need it later," she said, looking away, and Jimmy frowned.

"Cindy, what's wrong?" he asked, silently analyzing her actions. She was shifting her weight from foot to foot and wringing her hands while her gaze flicked in every direction but his. "Why are you so nervous?"

"Can I…" she began, her eyes finally locking on his. "Can I hug you?"

_This is new,_ he thought as he raised a single eyebrow in confusion. What made her start asking permission?

"Um, do you mind me asking why?"

"You made me swear that oath thing where I wouldn't touch you, remember?" she said, an impatient tone to her voice, and he frowned in confusion. "But I have to break it, so I'm asking you if I can. I can't take it! I feel too awful…"

"I meant why you suddenly have to hug me, not why you have to ask for an okay," he said, half musing and half stalling. He really didn't want to be subjected to any of Cindy's death grips. He was sure he had bruises from the last one. "And what do you have to feel awful about? Unless you have been kidding around this whole day and you've come to apologize?"

"Jimmy, please?"

Puking Pluto, it was that accursed note again! That single pleading note that turned his insides to mush and made him sigh in slight frustration. He looked up at the ceiling before squeezing his eyes shut and bracing himself for the absolute worst, his whole body tensing in preparation.

"All right, you may," he muttered, setting himself against the force he knew was about to smash into him. He heard a soft sob from Cindy, which made him pause, and he cracked open an eye curiously. He caught a glimpse of her coming towards him before he slammed his eye shut and locked himself in place.

But the blow never came. Instead, to his great surprise, he felt Cindy gently wind her arms around his neck, her cheek coming to rest on his shoulder. He timidly opened his eyes to stare down at her, a small frown crossing his features. Why… why was she shaking so badly?

It was then he realized that she was crying, and he absolutely froze. A yelling Cindy, a teasing Cindy, heck, even an "I'm-Going-to-Kick-Your-Butt" Cindy he could take in stride. But a _crying_ Cindy?

_Okay, calm down. Take a deep breath,_ he told himself, completely unsure of how to handle the situation. _Think, what does someone normally do when confronted with a sobbing female?_ Aside from flounder helplessly, that was… what did his mother normally do whenever he was upset? She'd hug him while trying to figure out what the problem was so she could try cheering him up… but would it work with Cindy? And more importantly… did he have the courage to even try?

_It's okay, you can do this,_ he thought, gritting his teeth in determination. _It really shouldn't be so bad, unless she suddenly decides to punch you or something, which is bound to be worse than that slap she gave you..._

Sucking up his courage and uttering a silent yet fervent plea for things to turn out well, Jimmy hesitantly slipped his arms around Cindy. He patted her back gingerly, which seemed to be the wrong thing to do, as her grip tightened and her crying grew worse.

_Jumping Jupiter, now what? It isn't working!_ He thought, fighting off a sudden bout of panic. _Maybe if I try talking to her? But it doesn't sound like she's in any shape to respond... oh I wish my genius was more help with girls!_

"It's…" Cindy said at last, her sobs dying down enough for her to speak. "It's true, isn't it? I've undergone some kind of change and none of this is real."

"What?" he asked as she pulled away slightly so she could look him in the eye. "What are you talking about? What happened to make you so upset?"

It seemed that was also the wrong thing to say as tears once again welled in her eyes.

"Wait, don't start crying again," he said in a rush, anxious to keep her from lapsing back into her sobbing state. "If you do, I can't help, all right?" She nodded a little and he breathed a small sigh of relief. "Now listen, why don't you start from the beginning? It'll help me understand."

It finally seemed like he'd done something right, as she nodded again and stepped away from him. Goddard appeared at her side, as though he'd been waiting to see how things turned out before showing himself, and he gently moved Cindy over to Jimmy's chair and handed her a box of tissues.

"Thank you, Goddard," she whispered after blowing her nose, and she gave the dog's head a friendly pat. He barked happily as Jimmy pulled up a stool and sat down before her, imitating something he'd seen people do on television when they were in for a serious conversation.

"As for why I'm so upset…" she began, her voice shaking slightly, and she wiped her eyes before continuing. "Libby and I went to the Candy Bar, right? And the moment I walked in the door, people just came up from everywhere to tell me what they thought of the joke I was playing on you. I couldn't believe it!"

Jimmy winced inwardly, silently wondering how prudent it had been to tell that to the class before he managed to get Cindy back to normal.

"I told them that it wasn't a joke, but they just laughed at me," she went on, hiccupping slightly as she clasped her hands together. "They told me that they knew I couldn't stop pretending yet, and all of them wanted to know when I was going to call it quits and go back to fighting with you. I told them that I'd never fought with you, and then they looked at me like I was crazy."

Jimmy sat silently as she shut her eyes, seeming to be fighting off the memories. After a moment, she reopened them and looked him seriously.

"It really got me thinking, you know? If everyone, even those who aren't in our class, tell me that I fought with you constantly and was always playing jokes on you and just generally making your life miserable, then… then maybe it's true," she said, her voice dropping back down to a whisper, and she bowed her head in defeat. "Maybe something has happened to me to make me forget all of it and to reverse my feelings towards you, and that you've been right all along."

"But…" she said, looking back up at him, a familiar intensity back to her gaze. "But I know what I feel, Jimmy, and I know how much I love you. Nothing could ever change that; you've got to believe me!"

"Cindy…" He wasn't quite sure how to respond further, and he could feel Goddard nudging him slightly, almost egging him on to reply.

"After realizing this, I suddenly understood your response to my hugs, kisses, and so on," Cindy said, saving him from continuing, and he could detect several trace amounts of bitterness to her voice. She turned away from him then, allowing a view of her profile, and he watched her swallow.

"I mean, from what everyone has told me, I was basically a bully, and who in their right mind could… could…" Her voice was breaking as her tears returned, and he sighed softly as several slid down her cheek.

"Look, Cindy," he began, and she glanced at him from the corner of her eye. "You may have made my life miserable at times, sure, but…" he trailed off, biting his lip slightly. "But you weren't a bully. Not like Terry. I mean, I didn't have to invent something to keep you away from me, right?"

"You… you mean that?" she asked, her definite note of hope to her voice, and he smiled a little.

"I do," he said, and she sniffled, a tiny smile gracing her lips. "I want you to take a look at something I just found, all right? I think it just might help explain this whole thing." At that he stood and reaching over to his keyboard, he returned to the beginning of the file he'd been reading.

"After reading this, I'm not sure what to make of the necklace," he said, noting that Cindy was scanning the screen quickly. "Maybe… maybe Libby was right," he added reluctantly, having to force the words out of him. The admission stung, partly because he wasn't accustomed to being wrong, and partly because it meant that he wasn't going to be able to fix things as easily as he'd been hoping.

"Maybe there is a curse on that thing after all," he said quietly, secretly glad that Libby wasn't present. He really didn't want to put up with any 'I told you so's" at the moment.

"So… what does it do exactly? This is just telling me about the history," Cindy said and Jimmy scrolled down a little.

" 'The Isis Amulet contains a frightening power, one that forces the wearer to reveal their darkest secret, or act upon their deepest desire…' " Cindy read, trailing off as her mouth fell open in shock, and he nodded a little. "Jimmy, this is impossible! You said repeatedly that it can't be a curse!"

"I know, I know," he told her, sighing a little. "Granted, I still have my qualms with it, but keep reading. It gets interesting."

She huffed slightly in impatience, but obliged. " 'The cursed one has no idea that their actions are out of the ordinary, as what they're doing or saying is something they've always wanted to let out. The curse merely erases their inhibitions and makes them forget that they ever did or said otherwise.' "

"Sound familiar?"

"It's just coincidence," Cindy said with a wave of her hand and Jimmy shook his head slightly.

"Cindy, you've completely forgotten about all the pranks you pulled on me, as well as all the times you've insulted and/or embarrassed me. If that description didn't fit this situation as well as it does, I'd dismiss it as coincidence too," he said as he began pacing back and forth across the room. "If you read further, you'll find descriptions of several early cases, and many of which match ours eerily."

"Do tell."

"Apparently one of the princesses started chasing one of her father's attendants around, proclaiming her everlasting love for the guy. Needless to say it didn't end well," Jimmy said with a wince. "Thankfully your father can't have me beheaded for 'bewitching' you."

"I wouldn't let him," Cindy said with a sniff of disdain. "And you haven't done anything to me. If this manuscript is to be believed, then it was the necklace that's the cause of all of this," she added, gesturing towards the computer screen. "So what's the brilliant plan to undo this?"

"Well…" he began as he stopped pacing, and Cindy raised an eyebrow. "The information so far gives no way to lift the curse. I've restarted the program in hopes that the rest of the book is about different ways to put things back to normal, but until it's finished translating, we won't know for sure."

"So we just sit and wait?"

"I guess so," he said, rubbing the back of his neck absently. "It seems kind of inadequate to simply sit around, however, so I'm going to go back to helping…"

_Wait just one Neutronic second._

Jimmy froze, feeling as though he'd been hit by a ton of bricks.

_The curse makes a person reveal their deepest secret?_

The full meaning finally clicked in his oversized brain and he spun away from Cindy, his heart suddenly racing.

_If that's to be believed, then... she meant everything that she said over the past day._

The thought shook him so badly that he grabbed the edge of the nearest work bench to steady himself. His knees felt like jelly.

_Deep down, Cindy Vortex is in _love_ with me._

No, no, no! He felt like screaming in frustration. This couldn't be happening! Curses didn't exist! And Cindy wasn't supposed to be _really_ in love with him; it was supposed to be because of either her sick practical joke or her addled brain!

_Get a grip! I have to think about this calmly; take some deep breaths. I have to relax and think things through. Everything has an explanation; I simply haven't found one yet!_

"Before you go, Jimmy, I'd like to ask you something."

Cindy's voice sounded miles away and he felt himself nod. "Why are you working so hard to get me back to my old self? I mean, wouldn't you enjoy _not_ being picked on, teased or embarrassed?"

"I don't know," he whispered, feeling slightly panicked for the umpteenth time that day. He squeezed his eyes shut and his fingers tangled themselves in his hair. "This whole ridiculous situation is making me grapple with matters I'd never imagined would exist, even in my wildest dreams, and nothing… nothing is making sense!"

"Is something wrong, Jimmy?" he heard Cindy ask, and he could feel her questioning gaze upon his back.

"I don't understand it."

He was pacing again, up and down and up and down, trying to work off all the pent up anxiety he suddenly felt. "I can't find an answer that fits with all _rational_, natural laws, you're either under this curse thing or you've suddenly decided to _seriously_ confound me, and I can't seem to figure out why I want the old Cindy back so much!"

"Jimmy…?"

"But that's the million dollar question, isn't it? Why should I even bother trying to turn you back to normal? You're nice to me, you don't insult me, and you stick up for me. You even lie to Miss Fowl and share your lunch with me," he continued, ticking things off on his fingers. "But every time I go over this, part of me just rails against it, telling me that it's wrong. I shouldn't be enjoying it, because it's not really you!"

"Jimmy, stop."

"And now, if this curse thing is to be believed, then everything you've said to me is something you've always wanted to say, and all of your actions are something you've been longing to do. But you're not supposed to be in love with me!"

He was practically shouting now, his pacing quickening. "I mean, you can't be! Cindy just isn't programmed that way. You're supposed to yell at me and tell me how stupid my big head is, and then maybe you'll be nice to me occasionally, like when you're sure that no one is watching. That's the way things are supposed to be!"

"Why?"

Her question stopped him dead in his tracks and he blinked at her, his mouth hanging open slightly. It was as though his mind, having been so set in one track, had stalled completely, leaving him without a single thing to say, and she stared right back at him. Her head tilted to one side slightly as she watched him, and a curious expression was present on her face.

"Why am I supposed to be mean to you?" she continued, sliding off the chair and walking towards him slowly. "Why can't things ever change between us? Aren't things always naturally changing?"

"But… but…" he stuttered, feeling like he was sinking in some horrible quagmire, with no way of saving himself. "But Cindy doesn't change. Nothing ever changes between us, no matter what we do."

"And why is that, you think?"

She stopped about an arm's length away from him, and he twitched slightly when she touched his shoulder gently.

"Why can't I be in love with you?" she asked, smiling a little, and he felt that if his eyes could widen any further, they would pop out of his head. "It makes me happy to be in love with you."

"It… it does?" he asked weakly and she nodded, still smiling. He felt her hand slide down his arm until it met with his hand, and she clasped it firmly.

"It really does," she said warmly, and he met her intense gaze. Suddenly he felt like he had during the dance, all breathless and shaky, and completely not in control of his body. She slowly embraced him then, her arms once again winding around his neck and her cheek pressed against his shoulder. He tensed at the sudden contact, but before he could fight back and escape, his mind clouded over and all coherent thought was lost.

It was exactly like the dance, he decided absently, his body finally relaxing. He couldn't seem to stop his arms from wrapping around her, or his head coming to rest on her shoulder. He felt oddly calm and contented, like this was something he was meant to do all along, and he shut his eyes for a moment, as his eyelids suddenly felt very heavy. He could feel a smile tug at the corner of his lips and he was unable to stop himself from memorizing her soft scent.

"Are you afraid of things changing?"

Her voice was no more than a whisper as her grip on him tightened slightly, and he shrugged, not really registering what she'd just said. He felt like he was floating, suspended in a sea of sweet jasmine, all of his cares and worries vanishing with her touch. It didn't matter why he felt like he did, just that he did, and nothing else was of any importance at all.

"Jimmy?"

Cindy pulled away from him slightly and he opened his eyes languidly to find that they were nearly nose to nose. He felt his face heat slightly from the closeness and Cindy's eyes twinkled in laughter.

"You haven't answered my question," she asked softly, her expression becoming shy, and a faint blush staining her cheeks. "Are you that afraid of things changing?"

"Maybe," he said, unable to fully comprehend what was going on. He felt as though large portions of his brain had just decided to shut down rather than deal with his current state and actions.

"Do your answers always have to be so enigmatic?" she asked with a giggle, brushing her nose against his playfully, and Jimmy swore that he was bright red to the very roots of his hair. It certainly felt like someone could fry an egg on his face.

"Cindy, what's-" he began in a vain attempt to regain control of himself, but she shushed him.

"Don't think, just do what you feel is right," she said and he swore that her face was closer somehow. He could feel his blood pounding in his ears as his heart rate sped up, and she was closer still, her eyes drifting shut. He gave up trying to figure out what was happening and let his eyes close as well, suddenly feeling a strange force pulling them together. Their noses brushed again, sliding past each other as their faces neared, their breath mingling… and then… then…

Cindy gave a sudden jerk, a violent shudder running through her body as she pushed herself away from him, and he heard her gasp in pain. His eyes flew open to find her clutching her head, her eyes squeezed shut and her fingers digging into her hair.

"Are you all right? What's wrong?" he asked, concern laced in his voice, and she shook her head rapidly before falling to her knees.

"Cindy!"

He knelt beside her and she grabbed his shoulders, her entire body shaking slightly. "It… hurts…" she gasped out before shuddering once and collapsing against him. He caught her with difficulty and quickly discerned that she'd lapsed into unconsciousness before frowning slightly in thought.

"Goddard!" he called out and the dog was at his side almost instantly. "I need to run an analysis of the hormones and/or chemicals present in her blood," he said as he struggled to his feet, holding Cindy. "I suddenly have a feeling that things might not be so supernatural after all."

Goddard barked a few times before bounding off to get the necessary equipment while Jimmy managed to get Cindy to the couch he had resting against the wall. He set her down and plopped to the ground beside her; that had been harder then he'd ever imagined it could be. Maybe he really did need to start thinking about getting in better physical shape…

_But first I have to figure out what happened,_ he thought, his frown deepening a little. Once again he had no explanation for why she would suddenly collapse, but…

_If I work quickly enough, I'm pretty sure I'll find my answer.

* * *

_

A little while later, Jimmy sat before the main screen, silently analyzing the tests done on the sample of Cindy's blood. Beside it was the same analysis done on a sample of his own for comparison, and though he knew it wouldn't be exactly the same, he had done the tests anyway to have a control in the situation.

_Let's see now. Her insulin levels are relatively normal, as are her estrogen levels. Adrenaline levels are rather high, however... but mine appear to be as well. That's interesting,_ he thought as he read, his gaze narrowing slightly. It made sense though, for her body to react as though she were in danger when whatever it was had caused her to collapse.

_Mine are probably just as high because I was worried about her,_ he thought as he continued reading through the data. Everything else appeared to be normal… wait. What was that?

He scrolled back up and frowned. Unknown hormone?

"Goddard?" he called over his shoulder and heard the dog bark twice in response. "Do you know what this 'unknown hormone' means? Was there actually something that you couldn't classify present in Cindy's blood?"

Goddard gave a bark of assent and Jimmy spun in his chair to find the dog carrying a small piece of paper towards him. He snatched it up, read it quickly, and finally looked back up at Goddard.

"You know, suddenly I have the feeling I'm missing something," he said, his hand closing around the paper. "This compound is unlike anything I've ever seen before, and it's made up of elements that aren't native to this planet."

Goddard gave a soft whine, tilting his head slightly as Jimmy turned back to the main screen, his eyes scanning the analysis once more. How and when could Cindy have been exposed to this? And where had it come from?

_There might be something more behind her actions than you may realize._

Jimmy straightened in surprise as the words floated back to him and he turned to Goddard, his lips sealing together in a thin line.

"Pick her up, Goddard," he ordered as he shut down the translation program and plucked the book from the scanner set up. "And let's get to the hover car. We're going to go pay Mrs. Ojufemi another visit."

Goddard barked, voicing his question, as he and Jimmy made their way from the lab.

"Right before we left, Mrs. Ojufemi told me that maybe there was something more to Cindy's actions. I never thought about it until now," he explained as Goddard gently set the unconscious Cindy in the back of the hover car and then hopped in himself. "It insinuates that she knew exactly what was behind Cindy's sudden change of heart, don't you think?"

Goddard barked sharply, clearly still confused, and Jimmy sighed in impatience.

"She told me that she didn't know anything about the necklace. Yet how would she know that Cindy wasn't just pretending, and was in fact, under the influence of an alien chemical?" he said as he slid into the driver's seat, and Goddard whined faintly. "I have a hunch that she knows a lot more about this than she's been letting on."

Goddard gave another faint whine as they rose into the air and Jimmy plotted out the fastest route to the Ojufemi household.

_As for why... well, that's going to have to wait until we get there and she can explain herself.

* * *

_

Hm, okay, so I lied again. This isn't the last chapter. It was supposed to be, honest, but I take longer to write things than I normally should. : So what do you think is going to happen next? I'm giving up on the whole 'the next chapter is the last!' thing because honestly, it might not be, seeing as how I keep drawing things out. Bah.

Anyway, how do you like this chapter? Am I going to be speared and maimed for giving you false hope over the kiss? (Chuckles evilly while dodging putrid fruit) So what do you think is going to happen next? Is Mrs. Ojufemi going to turn out to be some horrible twisted mastermind? Stay tuned and review and I'll love you forever.


	12. It's Simple, Really

Woo! I found time to write, even with everything that's going on. I'll say the biggest thank you yet to everyone who has ever reviewed, and major, major hugs to all my faithful readers. Thanks for not giving up on this!

Yet again, the standard disclaimer still applies. I own no part of JN, I stake no claim in it, and I do not wish to be sued. Thank you very much, and read on.

_To Cross the Rubicon_  
By: pottergal

Chapter Twelve: It's Simple, Really

Getting to the Ojufemi's house seemed to take a longer time in the dark, and if Jimmy hadn't been able to plot in the course, he was certain that he never would've found it among all the other nearly identical houses on the block. He sat down the hover car quickly upon reaching their destination, and hopped out, Goddard close behind holding the still unconscious Cindy.

_I just hope my instinct is right about this. For all I know, we could be wasting time that Cindy doesn't have,_ he thought as he rang the door bell, and after a few moments, Natesa opened the door.

"Jimmy? What are you doing here?" she asked, frowning deeply.

"I'm here to see your mother about the necklace," he said, peering over her shoulder to see if Mrs. Ojufemi was within sight. "Is she around?"

"Well, yeah," Natesa said, glancing over her shoulder to see what he was looking at. "But we're in the middle of-"

What exactly they were in the middle of he never learned, as Natesa froze suddenly. He stared, as it wasn't just a pause. The girl was completely frozen in position, her hair suspended slightly in midair as she'd been caught halfway through her motion of turning back towards him.

"Goddard, run a scan on the entire house," he ordered, not taking his eyes off the immobile girl in front of him. "I want to know what's going on exactly."

"There's no need for such a scan."

Jimmy practically leapt back when the inside of the house vanished with a faint click, taking Natesa with it, and Mrs. Ojufemi stepped from out of the sudden darkness. She smiled at him before making a small gesture with her wrist, the interior of the house returning and the lights coming back on, but Natesa remained gone.

"What'd you do?" Jimmy asked as she beckoned them inside.

"I terminated the family hologram program," she said, as though she was talking about the weather, and he stared. "I have a feeling it won't be necessary much longer, if you're here for the reason I think you are."

"Who are you?" he demanded, not budging an inch from the porch, and he could hear Goddard growling from beside him. "And what have you done to Cindy?"

"I'm not going to bother telling you my real name," Mrs. Ojufemi said, waving her hand slightly. "You'll butcher it and murder my ears."

"What?"

"If you must call me something, call me May," she said and Jimmy blinked. "Now, please, come inside. Then I can drop this disguise and give you the answers you seek. I'll tell you all about the Isis Amulet and where it really came from."

"And why should I trust you?" he retorted. "You've caused all kinds of problems for me and my friend!"

"I give you my word, Jimmy Neutron," she said gravely, drawing herself up and holding up her right hand. "And a Gorlock never goes back on their word."

"Gor… Gorlock?" Jimmy stuttered, his eyes going wide, and May smiled slightly. "You… you're not related to April, are you?"

"You speak of my daughter," she said and he gulped. "It is because of her and her foolishness that I am here. Now please, come inside." Against all better judgment, he took a few tentative steps inside, Goddard following him closely. May shut the door and instantly the inside of the house changed, taking on a look straight out of some futuristic science fiction show.

"Whoa," Jimmy whispered, looking around. The layout was exactly the same as before, the only difference was the walls and the décor. What once had been wood and plaster walls was now a sleek metal bulkhead, with dark green carpeting. The furniture was smooth and streamlined and all the knickknacks had been swept away. In their place came geometric artwork; on the wall across from the couch (where the fireplace had once sat) hung three rectangular canvases in a row, two of which had been painted black, while the middle had been left white. Three spheres of varying size and color sat in the middle of the smooth, clear coffee table, and Jimmy watched as May glided forward and tapped one.

"What'd you do?" he asked, but she ignored his question and motioned to the couch.

"You may set Cindy there if you like," she said, turning to him, and before his very eyes her disguise fell away. He wasn't quite sure how it had been done, as he swore it was far too complex for holograms, but suddenly Mrs. Ojufemi was gone and in her place stood an extremely tall female Gorlock. Jimmy had to assume that she was an adult female, as May resembled a woman where April had resembled a girl, and she also carried her lean, muscular body with an air of wisdom that April hadn't.

"I gave you my word, Jimmy Neutron," she said, her pearly white fangs glinting in the light, and her intense green eyes watching him with an unreadable look. "I will not bite."

"You'll forgive me for being so suspicious, Ms. May," he said, inspecting the couch before nodding to Goddard, who set Cindy down carefully.

"I do not blame you at all. I have given you no reason to trust me, aside from my word," she said, smiling a little. "I have deceived you, placed your friend under a 'curse' as you Humans call it. You are sensible, Jimmy Neutron, to be so suspicious. And for that, I suppose my daughter was wise for wanting you as one of her mates."

"Excuse me?" Jimmy asked, greatly startled by the sudden turn in conversation, and May began laughing heartily.

"You need not look so alarmed, Jimmy Neutron," she said, lowering herself into a nearby seat, her body moving with an effortless, cat-like grace. "I am not here to drag you back to our planet and make you endure the trials to become one of her mates. I am here to ensure that you forget my daughter."

"What?" he asked, still staring at May, who gestured to the chair opposite herself.

"Have a seat and I will explain why I have come to your planet," she said and almost mechanically he moved to sit. He heard Goddard whine softly, but his gaze remained focused on May, whose eyes followed him like some kind of predator. They had a grave, feral look about them, and it sent chills down his spine.

"In any of the messages you and my daughter exchanged, did she ever explain to you our aging process?" May asked and Jimmy shook his head. "Then you must understand something. For every fifteen years that a Human ages, we age one. My daughter, April, is many, many years older than you, though she may not look it at all. And she is finally approaching the time of Kel'dorim, where she chooses her first mate."

"So you're here to prevent her from choosing me?" Jimmy asked in a small voice that was unlike him. "And how did you plan on doing this? By killing me?"

"She already told me that she wanted you, but I told her that it would be selfish and unfair to you, to force you to leave your home planet and endure trials that would surely kill you," May said, lacing her fingers together. "After many months, she finally saw things my way. But my daughter is still quite young, and thus quite foolish. I correctly assumed that she would try to come and talk to you in person, to try and convince you to come back with her."

"April tried to come here? When?" Jimmy asked, scooting forward slightly in his seat. He would've liked to see her; she was still a friend, after all.

"It was not long ago, but I stopped her," May told him, her gaze narrowing, and Jimmy sank back into his seat. "It was then I decided to come and see you myself, to try and turn your affections away from my daughter." She gestured to Cindy at that, and he blinked. "I was the one who created the Isis Amulet, without realizing that men of your race do not wear such fancy jewelry, even for special ceremonies."

"So it does make the person act out their deepest desire?" he asked, but May ignored his question.

"It was actually beneficial that I wouldn't be able to have you wear it," she continued, "as I had no way to be certain that you had someone else besides my daughter that you cared for. So I came to your school as the Human girl Natesa and watched you for many weeks. It was then I discovered your ongoing feud with Cynthia Vortex, and that she felt something other than hate for you."

Jimmy glanced at the unconscious Cindy as May spoke, feeling a slight surge of an emotion he couldn't quite identify.

"My daughter spoke of her often, you know. It isn't easy for someone to gain my daughter's respect, especially if it is a female of another species, but somehow this Human girl managed to do it. That made me very interested in her as well," May said, a fond note in her voice. "And I too found myself impressed by her. She has a heart worthy of a Gorlock."

"Then why make her fall in love with me?" Jimmy demanded, his gaze snapping to May angrily. "If you were so impressed by her, why mess with her head like you did?"

"I did nothing, Jimmy Neutron," May said, her tone once again cool and harsh. "The necklace does exactly what that book says it does; it renders the person incapable of keeping secrets or telling lies. I had read Cynthia Vortex well enough to ascertain her deep affection for you and had correctly assumed that once the necklace was activated, she would begin acting upon her emotion, as she would be unable to hide it."

"And you thought that all of this would make me suddenly fall in love with her?" he shot back, anger clearly present in his voice, and May shifted slightly, her gaze turning cold. It made Jimmy do a small double take, and he bowed his head slightly. He'd seen April's phenomenal strength, and May had never said that she _wouldn't_ kill him; just that she had no intention of doing so. He had the worst feeling that if he pressed her enough, she might change her mind.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I'm just…"

"You are upset for your friend," May said, her posture relaxing slightly. "It is only natural for you to be angry with me. I have acted selfishly, and for that I apologize deeply." She bowed her head, her eyes finally leaving his face. "I had no idea that it would cause so much trouble for you."

"But surely, Jimmy Neutron, you can see my perspective? You can see why I would do something like this?" Her gaze returned to him and he tried to meet it evenly, but it was difficult.

"I do," he said after a moment, nodding a few times. "I mean, I do like April, make no mistake about it, but I'm way too young to even think of getting married. And I certainly wouldn't want to be put through anything that's going to kill me."

"Our trials are meant for full grown male Gorlocks, Jimmy Neutron," May said seriously. "You would last perhaps a few seconds before being squashed into a… what is your word? Ah yes, pancake." He grimaced at the mental image and May laughed again.

"So how does the necklace work, exactly? And why is Cindy unconscious right now?" he asked, trying to steer things away from that particular subject. It was beginning to make him rather uncomfortable.

"The necklace is Gorlock. There are two of them, one of which causes the effects you have seen, while the other I created as a copy for you to take apart and study. Cindy wore the original on her project day, where it inserted a special chemical that would be activated within twelve of your hours."

"But then why is Cindy unconscious? Has it done something to her?" he demanded, feeling his fists clench slightly. "She was in pain before she collapsed. Is that what happens when it wears off?"

"I have never heard of it wearing off before," May said and Jimmy frowned. "But you are Human and your bodies are different than ours. This is another angle I had not considered…" May sighed a little. "I have never heard of a Gorlock fainting from the effects of the chemical. Perhaps it has mutated somehow, from being exposed to a foreign system, and made itself difficult to undo…"

"You mean this is permanent!"

"I said it would not be undone easily," May told him, a warning glare to her eye, and Jimmy shut his mouth with a click. "I will give you an unused sample of the chemical for your analysis, as well as the antidote I was planning on administering to her tonight. If you discover that it has indeed changed, you can alter the antidote to return your friend to normal." He blinked at her then, a light frown wrinkling his brow, and May gave him a shrewd look.

"You are wondering why go to such great lengths to keep you from my daughter, correct?" she asked, and he nodded once. "I understand your intelligence, and I respect it, Jimmy Neutron. But men of my people are valued for their strength, and not their brains. It is the women who are the thinkers, not the other way around. I know my daughter was attracted to your intellect, as it is very rare for men to have such a trait, but our cultures cannot mix. And I will not lose my only daughter to a foolish dream."

"But I still don't understand your plan," he said. "If your object was to make me fall in love with Cindy, it hasn't worked. All I feel is confused and annoyed beyond belief." May smiled at that, her eyes taking on a rather mischievous glint.

"You think so, Jimmy Neutron?" she asked, her tone making him shift uncomfortably in his chair. "I think your friend had a point, when she asked you why you were working so hard to bring back the old her."

"I was doing it because something had changed her without her permission," Jimmy snapped, but May's smile didn't waver.

"But she was happier in the new form, you must admit."

"That was part of your drug!" he said, and May shook her head.

"Think, Jimmy Neutron," she told him as she waved her hand and a small vial of a green liquid appeared on the coffee table beside him. "This did nothing more than give her the keys to her freedom, so to speak. The only reason she was happier was because she could finally tell you how she felt."

Jimmy stared at the vial, feeling as though his head was pounding with all the different thoughts bouncing around inside it. He'd never felt more confused and uncertain in his life, and it was all because of an overprotective mother.

"You mean you did something to me as well?" he said slowly, feeling anger bubbling within him. "The other day, during the dance, I felt something strange. Was that you injecting me with some kind of chemical? Have you made me feel all these strange things over Cindy?"

"I assure you, Jimmy Neutron, upon punishment of death, that all of your responses were caused by your… how do you say?" She touched her chest lightly, a small frown wrinkling her brow. "It is a strange term to me, as the organ does not have the kind of abilities you Humans attribute to it."

"Heart?" Jimmy supplied weakly, a horrible feeling filling him, and May nodded, her frown vanishing.

"That is it precisely," she said. "I watched you struggle with yourself as you tried to rationalize things, and though highly entertaining, I found it sad that you couldn't seem to grasp your own feelings. Though it shouldn't have come as a surprise, I suppose, as I have found that scholars have the utmost trouble when it comes to dealing with…" May paused again, her brow wrinkling in slight concentration, "issues of the heart."

"So you're saying that I've been in love with Cindy all this time?" he whispered, his gaze finally traveling upwards to May's face. "You're saying that I just haven't taken the time to stop and analyze my own feelings, and that I feel the exact same way about her as she does about me?"

"Your responses to her would certainly indicate that conclusion," May said easily and Jimmy leapt to his feet in anger. She cut him off, however, silencing him with a wave of her hand.

"It is not something you wish to hear, correct? And it is not something I care to debate with you," May said sharply, and he shut his mouth slowly. "I gave you the unused chemical, and now I give you the antidote if you will give me your word that you will never accept my daughter's invitation to the Kel'dorim."

Jimmy studied her face silently, weighing his options. It was a simple bargain, really; agree to not become April's husband, and thus avoid the trials May had spoken of. Not only would he be avoiding potential death, but he would also obtain the key to returning things to normal.

"You have my word," he said after a moment, and May stood smoothly before reaching down and clasping his face in her hands. She bent swiftly and placed a light kiss on his forehead before he realized what had happened.

"Then it is sealed," she said and produced a small vial filled with a bubbly blue liquid from thin air. "I give this to you, Jimmy Neutron, in accordance with our pact, and I will remain here for one more of your days before departing to our planet. I expect that our paths will never cross again."

He nodded woodenly as he took the vial from her outstretched hand, staring up at her silently. She smiled then and knelt before him, her hands resting on his shoulders lightly.

"What you have done for me is something I do not deserve," she said softly, her voice warm. "You have indulged me when you could have denied my request; especially after all I have put you and your Ki'el through. I am truly in your debt."

His hand closed around the vial and he drew a deep breath. "It… it was nothing, really. April…" he looked away as he tried to put his thoughts into words. "She was unlike anyone I'd ever met, and though she is special to me, I've known that nothing would ever come of it. To be together is impossible, as I have my place here and she has hers on your planet. It… it was never meant to be."

"It makes me happy to hear you say so, though it undoubtedly causes you pain," May said softly, gently touching him under his chin and bringing his face to look at her. "You show a wisdom that my daughter, for all her many years, does not. And as for my daughter being unique…"

May smiled widely. "I suggest you take a closer look at the ones around you, Jimmy Neutron. What you find may surprise you."

* * *

Heh, boy am I glad that I didn't say this was the last chapter. Otherwise I'd be a liar yet again, right? Well, I hope this clears stuff up for everyone, and I hope this was a twist that none of you were expecting. (Grins) So what do you think is going to happen next? Will Jimmy be able to cure Cindy? And what's he going to do about everything that he's learned from May? Stay tuned! 


	13. Of Minds and Men

On a roll, finally. Not much to say aside from how I can't believe how many reviews I've got! This is the most any of my stories as ever received, and I can't thank you all enough. It's really want makes me keep writing, so read onwards and enjoy!

La, la, la, standard disclaimer still applies. Don't own JN, don't sue, woo. Onwards!

_To Cross the Rubicon_  
By: pottergal

Chapter Thirteen: Of Minds and Men

Jimmy sat on a stool beside the couch in his lab, where Cindy lay, still unconscious. They'd returned over an hour ago with the two vials in hand, and upon their arrival, he'd sent Goddard to work comparing the chemical from Cindy to the original. Then he'd begun tinkering with one of his many inventions until he was able to use it to mimic Cindy's voice, whereupon he'd called her parents to tell them she was all right and doing research with him for a school project.

He'd then tried to help Goddard with little success, as he kept getting in his own way. His mind wouldn't let him rest after the conversation he'd had with May, and it kept running over everything she'd told him, trying to come to grips with the information. It left little room for focus, and he'd not only tripped over several wires, but he'd also dropped a beaker, smashed up several test tubes, and nearly put his hand down on the hot plate. It was only natural that Goddard had essentially banned him from helping, as at the moment he was more trouble than he was worth.

It was yet another thing he didn't understand. Normally he could set things aside that were distracting him from accomplishing the task at hand, and at first he'd thought that he'd be able to do the same with this. But it just kept coming up, like some annoying popup ad, and no matter how hard he tried to banish it, it continued to spawn and multiply.

_My responses were my own. No one caused them but me..._

Jimmy sighed as he rested his head in his hands, his elbows digging into his thighs slightly. He just couldn't believe that. Cindy was a pushy, annoying, conceited loudmouth. He didn't even remotely like her, let alone love her!

_Don't remotely like her, huh? Then why suggest that they try and become friends? You can't lie to yourself, so don't even try. Deep down you like her a lot more than you say and you know it._

And what about all those times today when he'd been unable to get away from her? This marked the third, maybe fourth time they'd almost kissed, and every time it had happened he'd been unable to push her away. How could he explain that unless some unknown part of him actually did… like her? Maybe even… love her?

May had sworn to him that she hadn't interfered with him at all, and the blood tests he'd done earlier on himself had come back normal. There was no chance that it had been due to any chemical, as even if someone had injected him with something, he would've found a residue of it somewhere, even after it had long since worn off.

The more he studied it, the more it seemed May had been right, and the more frustrated he was becoming.

A random yet radical question popped to mind as he sat there, startling him slightly. Why was being in love with Cindy such a bad thing? She'd more than proved that she could be nice if she tried, and he'd said himself that if he'd tried a little harder, they would've gotten along just fine. So where was the problem? And why was he working so hard to set things right, as he'd said?

Was it because May had been right? Was it because he really was in love with her and wanted to see her back the way she normally was?

Jimmy groaned a little. When had his brain decided to disagree with him? Was everything going to contradict him today?

But he had to admit (even if it was rather reluctantly) that it was a good point. Why did he want to old Cindy back so badly? It was a question he'd been grappling with for most of the day, and he had yet to find a satisfactory answer. He knew it wasn't just because of his sense of right and wrong; he couldn't lie to himself. He wasn't exactly a saint, after all, even if he did work hard to be a decent son or have the best intentions for his inventions.

_I... miss her,_ he thought suddenly, startled once again by the radical quality of the idea. _I never thought I'd say this, but I actually miss arguing with her. It... It was a challenge to try and best her, and I enjoyed that. I can't deny it._

He sighed a little as he lifted his head and glanced at the clock. In a few minutes he had to check Cindy's vital signs, which he'd been doing every ten minutes or so. He supposed that he could've rigged up something quickly to monitor them constantly, but he didn't trust himself in his current state. As far as he was concerned, being able to alter the Enceplo Synthesizer had been a fluke.

"Ugh…"

Cindy's soft groan made his attention snap to her, and to his great surprise, he found that she was stirring slightly. He slid off the stool to kneel beside the couch and touched her shoulder gently.

"Cindy?" he asked softly and watched as her eyes fluttered open. She groaned again and slammed them shut, mumbling something about it being too bright, but soon cracked open one eye to peer at him.

"Jimmy? Where… where am I?" she asked, her voice dry and hoarse. "My entire body aches… what happened to me?"

"You're still in my lab," he told her as he reached down and clasped her wrist. He could sense her frown as he placed two fingers on the underside of her arm while glancing at his watch. "You collapsed a little over an hour and a half ago, clutching your head in pain."

"Oh," she said, tugging on the wrist in his grasp. "So why are you taking my pulse?"

"I've been monitoring it for the past hour," he said, frowning as he counted. "It has been fluctuating wildly, but it seems that it's finally evened out." He finished and placed her arm back down on the couch as lightly as possible. "So what part of you hurts the most? Is it your head?"

"I feel… like someone hit me with a stick," she said, licking her dry lips and swallowing. "I just ache all over; there isn't one specific place. My head is pounding, my arms and legs feel shaky, and my vision is sliding in and out of focus. Does that give you anything to work with?"

_You know, it almost sounds like she's back to normal,_ he thought, blinking a few times. _Only one way to test it to be sure..._

"I've got one more question for you," he asked before taking a deep breath and preparing himself for her (hopefully) bad reaction. "Are you… um… are you still in love with me?" He winced and tensed when she stared up at him, her eyes widening slightly.

"What kind of question is that? You had nothing to do with this, did you?" she asked, frowning, and Jimmy felt a small glimmer of hope appear within him. "Of course I still love you."

_Gas planets,_ he thought, sitting back on his heels glumly. So much for hoping that he wouldn't have to do anything more…

"So have you figured out why I collapsed?" she asked, as though she'd sensed his discomfort and was trying to change the subject. "And does it have anything to do with the way I feel right now?"

"It must," he said, chewing at the inside of his cheek. "After you fainted, I ran some tests on a sample of your blood. I can't believe that I didn't do them when this whole thing first started, but that's not the point."

"You found something then?"

He nodded. "I did. I found a chemical that Goddard had been unable to identify, as its makeup was completely foreign. None of the elements present were from this world."

"How is that possible?" she asked, staring up at him. "I mean, sure, we've had more than enough contact with aliens. But the Gorlocks are too far away, the Yokians would attack you if they showed up, and so on."

"Well, actually…" He looked away as he spoke, rubbing the back of his arm and wincing. "It turns out Mrs. Ojufemi is a Gorlock named May. She came here on behalf of her daughter, April, who wants me to be her husband."

"WHAT!"

Jimmy leapt back in shock from Cindy's enraged shout and his jaw dropped when he found that she was struggling to her feet, flames of anger practically pouring off her as well as dancing in her eyes.

"As if! That green-skinned, big-fanged, ugly ram-girl can think twice before she asks you to be hers!" she seethed, setting herself into a martial arts stance. "If I have to fight her again to keep you from winding up on her planet forever, I will! I don't care what it takes or even if she's stronger than me! I've got speed and skill!"

"Cindy, relax!" he ordered, his tone half amused and half annoyed. "I'm not going anywhere. May was here actually to keep me from accepting April's invitation, and naturally I agreed with her logic."

"Of course you did! You can't go off and marry some… wait. What?" Cindy blinked at him for a moment. "You mean… April's mother was here, ordering you _not_ to become her son-in-law?"

"Exactly," he said with a nod, and Cindy did a double take. "She said that our cultures were too different and that her daughter was being selfish to ask me." He stood then and helped Cindy retake her seat on the couch, as she'd started swaying dangerously the moment her anger had abated.

"Besides, she'd said that the trials I'd have to undergo to even be considered as a potential mate would've killed me."

"Well, good!" Cindy said, frowning emphatically and crossing her arms over her chest. "Because there's no way I would let you go anywhere if it meant you were going to be married off to some alien bimbo! I would imprison you first!"

"Um, thanks… I think," he said as she blinked a few times, her hands coming up to cradle her head. "You really shouldn't be moving right now. May said that the chemical she used to cause all this might have unknown side effects on Humans."

"What was that?" Cindy asked, her tone alarmed, and she looked at him with wide eyes. "You mean… that I am under the influence of some wacko drug?"

"Sort of," he said as he sat beside her. "Right after you collapsed, I ran the test on your blood and came up with the chemical. I then correctly deduced that Mrs. Ojufemi knew more than she was letting on, so I went to see her and found all that stuff out about her and April. She also told me of her plan to turn my affections away from her daughter, which involved you and that necklace you wore yesterday."

"But you said you examined the necklace and found nothing," Cindy said, her frown back, and he nodded.

"That's because I was examining a copy made by May," he said and she lifted an eyebrow questioningly. "She told me that the necklace you wore yesterday was the original, and it injected a special Gorlock chemical into you. What that chemical did was exactly what the book said it would, and that is that it prevents you from telling lies or keeping secrets."

"This seems pretty complicated," she said, and he nodded in agreement. "I mean, why go to all these lengths when she could've just explained the situation to you? Chances were, you could've agreed right off the bat, you know?"

"I think she wanted to remain unknown to me, actually," he said as he tapped a finger against his cheek in thought. "I think she was hoping to discover that if you started announcing your love for me that I would suddenly feel the same way and forget completely about April. That way, if April did ever manage to get past her mother and come here, I'd already be spoken for, so to speak, and April would have no reason to blame her mother for any kind of foul play."

"She told you all of that?"

"Nah, I kinda just now thought of it," he said, giving her a small, sheepish smile. "Plus I think she wanted some kind of bargaining edge on me, so in case the plan didn't work out she could always threaten me."

"So what else did she tell you?"

"Not much," he said, sitting back against the couch. "She gave me some of the original chemical, telling me that she'd never heard of Gorlocks collapsing after being exposed to this chemical, and that it might've mutated upon coming in contact with you. She also gave me the antidote, and right now Goddard is examining the sample of the chemical from your blood and a sample from the original to see if it indeed has changed somehow."

"So Libby was wrong after all," Cindy said quietly and he nodded. "She'll be glad though, because I think she was secretly hoping that it would be something easy for you to fix."

"Yeah…" he said and felt Cindy sigh, her eyes downcast. "What… what's wrong, Cindy?"

"You… you were right," she said softly, her hands dropping to her sides and clenching slightly. "All of this today… it wasn't the real me after all. It was just some stupid drug making me act weird."

Jimmy opened his mouth to argue, a frown creasing his brow, but a loud bark of excitement from Goddard interrupted him. The dog came bounding up to them happily, several sheets of paper clutched in his manipulators, and he handed them over to Jimmy while wagging his tail furiously.

"These are the results from all the tests he was doing," Jimmy said to Cindy as he quickly scanned the pieces of paper, Goddard's excitement slowly infecting him. "It seems that the chemical hasn't mutated at all; it's just adversely affecting your body. Thankfully this is only a new development, and there hasn't been enough time for it to do any permanent damage to you."

"So what happens now?" she asked in a small voice as he set aside the results and looked up at her. "You give me the antidote and poof! Everything goes back to normal? But… what if I don't want…?" She met his gaze briefly before looking away and shaking her head. "What if I don't want things to go back to the way they were? What if I want to stay this way? I can deal with everyone telling me that I'm not acting like myself!"

"But Cindy…" he began with a sigh, trailing off when he couldn't think of how to vocalize his thoughts.

"I have no choice, do I? If I don't, this stupid drug will kill me, right?" she said, bringing her knees to her chest and hugging them. "Jimmy, I… I like being like this. Not all dizzy and achy, but I feel like this huge stone has been lifted from my shoulders."

"Because you've finally told me, right?" he said softly and after a moment she nodded a little. "But think about it, Cindy. That chemical is kind of like cheating, don't you agree? It's made it so you don't care if I feel the same way or not, or that people will seriously question your sanity. I mean, wouldn't it be more meaningful if you were able to tell me all this when you were your regular self?"

She sat silently, her eyes studying the floor intently, but after a moment, she again nodded slightly.

"You're always so logical," she said quietly, her arms tightening around her knees, and he slid from the couch.

"Hey, this is saving your life," he said defensively. "And it isn't going to erase your feelings, you know. You'll just be given back your ability to keep them hidden." He tried to interject some cheer in his voice, but the somber look in Cindy's eyes sent a pang of guilt through him.

"Goddard, could you bring me that antidote as well as the hypodermic gun that May gave us?" he said, still watching Cindy, and she'd tensed at his words. Goddard gave a few barks in acknowledgement before trotting off and leaving them alone.

"Please don't fight us," he said, assuming that she'd tensed in preparation to bolt, and she lifted her head to fix him with that grave look. It made part of him clench painfully and his breath hitched in his throat.

"I'm not going to," she said as he took a small step towards her, and acting on impulse, he snatched up her hands before squeezing them lightly.

"Nothing bad is going to happen," he told her when she blinked at him in surprise. "So please quit looking at me like the world is going to end, okay?"

"In a way it is," she whispered as Goddard returned, the loaded hypodermic gun in hand. Jimmy dropped both of Cindy's hands so that he could take the tool from Goddard, swallowing as he studied the blue, bubbly liquid present in the transparent chamber. Why did he suddenly feel so nervous? Here was the answer he'd been seeking all day…

Goddard's whine broke him from the slight trance he'd been in, and he gave the dog a small smile before turning back to Cindy. She smiled sadly as he took his seat beside her, pressing a few buttons on the butt of the tool and it hissed slightly as it readied itself.

"At least it's not a needle," she said as she held out her arm. "Go on, Jimmy. It's now or never."

He nodded once as he placed the rounded muzzle of the tool against the bare skin of her bicep, and she shivered slightly.

"Cold?" he asked and she nodded a little. "Just a few more seconds and it'll be over, okay?" She nodded again and he pulled the trigger. The tool gave a faint hiss as well as a faint beep, and he watched the blue liquid slowly leave the firing chamber and enter directly into her bloodstream.

"There," he said once it had finished, and handed the tool back to Goddard. Cindy was shivering again, her hand coming up to clasp the spot where the muzzle had pressed against her skin, and she looked at him as she bit her lip slightly.

"One last thing…" she said softly, and before he could react, she leaned forward and kissed him lightly on the lips.

He gave a muffled gasp of surprise and she pulled away slowly, leaving his lips with a faint, tingling sensation. She smiled as a deep blush began to crawl across his cheeks, but before he could say anything (though part of him seriously questioned if he could actually form a sentence in his current state of shock) she shivered again and fell back against the couch.

"Cindy!"

She gave him a small smile and reached up to tenderly press her hand to his cheek. "I'm all right," she whispered. "I'm just suddenly exhausted…"

"It must be the antidote," he said as he reached up to clasp her hand, feeling it slide as she steadily weakened. Her eyelids kept drooping and her breathing was progressively deepening.

"Yeah…" She'd shut her eyes at last, but her hand twitched against his and she continued to speak. "Don't forget… okay? Don't forget that I… I love you…" she trailed off as her body relaxed and she lapsed into unconsciousness. He studied her sleeping face for a moment before placing her hand over the other one, which rested in her lap.

_I can't promise that..._ he thought with a sigh as he slid from the couch and moved her into a more comfortable position. Goddard nudged him slightly as he sat on the stool and placed his head in his hands, feeling distinctly shaken, but strangely enough… part of him felt like doing cartwheels. Where was the grimace of disgust he'd displayed when he'd kissed that dream Cindy? He'd only felt like this once… well, make that twice before, when he'd been kissed by Betty after the play and by April just before their return trip to Earth. Did this mean that…?

_Sometimes I wish I didn't have feelings..._

* * *

Okay, I'm finally getting closer to the end, at long last. I've never written anything this long chapter wise before… wowie. So what do y'all think of this chapter? (wiggles eyebrows slightly) Hopefully the next chapter will have more loveable fluff, but I make no promises. Though at my heart I am a hopeless romantic, I find it hard to find a balance between the mushy mush I long to write and the believability behind it. Because you've got to have some, right? 

Please let me know how you think I'm doing, and I'll love you forever.


	14. Dratted Issues of the Heart

(Pottergal slowly but surely pokes her head out of the grave she's been wallowing in these past… um… how many months has it been?) Hi everyone! Please oh please don't kill me for taking so long to update- between summer session and moving into a new apartment, my life has just been one upheaval after another.

Now, before we get started, a quick, but HUGE thank you to all my reviewers. You're all wonderful and I'm glad you're enjoying this story!

Okay, dumb disclaimer that says I own nothing, I stake no claim, blah. Enjoy the story now, kay?

_To Cross the Rubicon_  
By: pottergal

Chapter Fourteen: Dratted Issues of the Heart

Cindy cracked open an eye, wondering why she felt so sick to her stomach and why her head was pounding so badly. She pushed herself up onto her elbows with a loud groan; it even hurt to move. Where was she, anyway? Had she passed out in class?

_Wait..._ Had she even gone to class? And what time was it anyway?

"Cindy?"

She slowly turned her head in the direction of the voice and frowned in confusion when she found Jimmy watching her apprehensively. It was then she realized she was in his lab, lying on a small couch that sat at the back of the main room. How she'd gotten there was a mystery, as well as why she was there in the first place.

"How're you feeling? Did the antidote work?" he asked, his tone concerned, and she turned back to him, a look of disbelief present on her face.

"How I feel isn't important right now, Neutron," she snapped and watched relief wash over his features. "What antidote are you talking about? And what am I doing in your lab? Did one of your crackpot experiments make me sick?"

"No, actually, it was someone else who…" he trailed off, his smile fading into a frown. "Wait, you mean you don't remember today?"

"Well…" she began, straining as she tried to recall things, but all she kept coming up with were fuzzy images and random flashes of a petrified Jimmy. "Not really, no. The last clear memory I have is of getting off the bus."

"Oh," he said, making Cindy blink. Had her ears just deceived her into hearing a note of disappointment in his voice?

"Should I remember today?" she asked, quirking an eyebrow, and he winced slightly. Once again his reaction wasn't at all what she'd been expecting; an angry retort, perhaps, but not a grimace.

"All right, Neutron, spill. What happened to me? And what am I doing in your lab?"

"Well... maybe it's for the best that you don't remember," he said and she fixed him with her best glare.

"I'm bound to find out anyway," she reasoned. "And if it had anything to do with you, so help me, I'll kick your butt so badly that your children's children will be black and blue. That is, of course, assuming you'll even have kids…"

He sighed, not bothering to fight the glint of steel to her voice, and looked away. "Fine," he muttered. "But before I say anything, remember that I warned you."

"Just tell me already!" she exclaimed impatiently, crossing her arms over her chest with a faint huff. "The longer you stall, the angrier I get!"

"All right, all right!" he said, shooting her with an annoyed glare. "You spent the entire day chasing after me, trying desperately to crush me to death with one of your hugs, and to top it all off, you've been proclaiming your everlasting love for me like some horrible skipping CD. You're currently in my lab because I was given an antidote to reverse the chemical that sent you into that state in the first place."

Cindy stared at him, not quite daring to believe what she'd just heard, before bursting into hysterical laughter. She'd been… chasing him? Like something out of those old cartoons, with that French skunk and the cat? He had to be joking…

"That's a good one, Neutron! Who knew you had a sense of humor!" she managed between several giggles, and caught the annoyed frown he'd fixed upon her.

"I'm not kidding, Cindy," he said dully, leaning back in his chair and folding his arms over his chest. "So laugh all you want; it's not going to change anything."

The note of steel to his voice, coupled with the lack of any annoyance or humor in sharing a joke, made her amusement falter and quickly fade. She watched him for a moment, noting the unfamiliar stony glint to his eyes and the way his lips had compressed themselves into a thin line.

"You're actually serious," she breathed and he gave her a look.

"Unfortunately," he responded glumly, and she snorted before rolling her eyes.

"It's still the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard, Neutron," she said, her impatience returning full force. "Never in a million years would I remotely want to touch you, let alone hug you. And don't even start with the…"

_Don't forget... okay?_

Cindy froze mid-sentence as a vague memory popped into her mind. It sounded dimly like her voice, yet it couldn't be! She never pleaded for anything, and there was no way she would _ever_ sound that weak…

_Don't forget that I... I love you... _

"Oh no…" she mouthed, finding it difficult to work her voice at the moment. A strange sinking feeling filled her as the memory came back, from her final proclamation to the impromptu kiss she had bestowed upon him. Her eyes widened in shock and she swallowed around the sudden tightness in her throat, butterflies beating against her ribcage. She watched as Jimmy frowned at her sudden silence, faint traces of concern shining in his cerulean eyes.

_No, no, no!_

"Um, Cindy?" he asked, disquiet leaking into his tone, and she figured he was either unable to lip read or just ignoring her words.

_He knows..._

"Are you all right? Do you feel sick again?"

_He knows everything..._

The sinking feeling grew as she clasped her head in her hands. This couldn't be happening to her! She shuddered slightly as the whole day came rushing back; suddenly she remembered just what had happened from the time she'd first seen him in the morning, to the picnic lunch and the trip to Mrs. Ojufemi's house, up until the moment she'd just awoken.

_I couldn't keep secrets... oh heaven help me, he_ knows...

It took her a moment to realize that Jimmy was saying something, as she could see that his lips were moving, and it took her even longer to actually figure out what he was saying. There was something more about April's mother and the alien drug's effect on her, causing her to be sick in the first place…

"You don't have to explain," Cindy managed at last, cutting him off, and Jimmy blinked slightly. He frowned at her in confusion, his brows knitting together, as Cindy let her hands drop to her lap.

"But I thought you didn't remember," he said and she shook her head.

"Not anymore… it came back to me," she said, shrugging shakily and a nervous laugh bubbled up from within her. Yet again her words did not have the effect she'd expected, and she raised an eyebrow as his whole demeanor changed.

_I don't believe it..._

"Oh," he said in response, and she could actually detect a faint tremor to his voice. After a moment of watching him carefully, she realized that he'd clasped his hands together tightly to keep their trembling from showing. "Like talking triggered the memories somehow?"

_He's as nervous as I am!_

"Yeah," Cindy said, swallowing a little and looking at the ground.

"Ah…" he said before trailing off, the two of them looking in any direction but the other.

_I can't blame him, I guess... he doesn't seem to know how to act around me anymore. I suppose... I suppose I should get out of here..._

Unable to take it anymore, Cindy sighed a little and stood from the couch before looking him straight in the eye. He seemed startled for a moment, and it faded to unease when she continued to look him over carefully.

"Is… is something wrong?"

"I think we both need some time apart to think this over," she said and watched relief flood over him. He seemed unaware of the way his shoulders dropped or that his eyes closed briefly before he let out a small breath, but Cindy drank it all in.

"How about we talk about this whole thing once we've had time to put our thoughts in order?" she suggested, already knowing his answer.

"Sure," he said easily, but his eyes betrayed the welter of emotions that roiled beneath his suddenly calm exterior. "Goddard will show you out, okay?"

She nodded, and trying not to look too eager, she began to follow the mechanical dog. As he led her through the corridors of Jimmy's lab, the doors swishing shut behind her, Cindy struggled to work through her own emotions. So she was nervous… but he was as well. And he knew the truth now, not to mention that he hadn't completely rejected her… was his nervousness because he felt some inkling of what she did and was just unable to tell her yet?

_Cindy, don't do this to yourself,_ she thought, trying to smash the flame of hope that had ignited within her. Chances were they weren't ever going to talk about it.

_Then I'll make a point of it! Things can't stay like this, with the two of us unable to even look the other in the eye,_ she thought with a flash of determination, her fists clenching at her sides. Tomorrow morning before school, she'd go over to his house early and insist that they work something out.

Okay, so she had a plan. Now all that was left was to figure out what she was going to say…

_I think I know what's going to be the hardest part._

_

* * *

_

Unfortunately for Cindy, sleep simply refused to come to her that night. She did everything she could possibly think of, from counting sheep to drinking a glass of warm milk with some honey. Yet for all her efforts, she merely wound up hating the thought of another sheep and fence (she'd gotten above three thousand before finally calling it quits) as well as the taste of milk and honey. So she now lay on her back in her room, trying to read herself to sleep with the most boring book she owned and hoping that her mother wouldn't catch her with her light on.

_This isn't working!_ She thought with an angry growl and resisted the urge to hurl the book across the room in a fit of sleep-deprived irritation. Instead she contented herself by flopping back on her pillows heavily and buried her face in her hands.

"What on earth is the matter with me?" she muttered quietly, still possessing enough sense to realize she couldn't start screaming and tearing her hair out, lest she wake up both her parents. "I never normally have problems sleeping…"

But that was just it, wasn't it? Today certainly hadn't been a normal day… Cindy sighed heavily and let her hands fall to her stomach, her gaze playing connect-the-dots randomly with the speckles of plaster on the ceiling.

_It's that whole thing with Neutron,_ she thought glumly. _I'm never going to get any sleep until I settle things with him..._

But what could she possibly do about it? It wasn't like she could just walk across the street and talk to him about it… she'd passed up that chance the moment her bedtime had rolled around. She certainly wasn't about to sneak out of the house in the middle of the night; what if her parents woke up and found her gone? And besides, she highly doubted that Neutron would appreciate rocks hurtling at his window at this hour. Things were already unstable enough between them and she didn't want to go and make it even more awkward.

She was just going to have to tough it out until morning… maybe he was an early riser and they could get this settled quickly.

_I have to at least _try_ and get some sleep..._ she thought ruefully, part of her dreading the thought of more insomnia cures as she reached over to shut off her bedside lamp.

_Plink!_

Cindy froze as the sound of something hitting her window reverberated through the utter silence of her room. Her fingers hovered above the switch to her lamp, every inch of her tingling with some unknown emotion; surely she'd imagined the noise, right? Who on earth would be tossing things at her window?

"It was probably just a tree branch or something," she assured herself, her hand beginning to descend upon the switch once more.

_Plink! Plink!_

That was no tree branch… besides, did she even have a tree remotely near her window? Someone was definitely throwing something, and she had a pretty good idea just who it was.

"_Vortex!_"

If she'd had any doubts before, the hissed whisper dispelled them easily. Hardly daring to believe her ears, she threw off her covers and scrambled out of bed, racing for her window. She undid the latch and shoved it open before leaning out eagerly, her eyes searching impatiently for the source of the welcome disturbance.

"What is it, Neutron?"

He stood in her moonlit lawn, looking rumpled and nervous, shifting from foot to foot unconsciously. She could tell he'd dressed hurriedly, as his shoes were untied and his shirt was wrinkled. He'd crammed his hands into the pockets of the navy blue jacket he wore, his overall posture tense, and he nibbled at his lower lip pensively.

"I… I'm not sure, exactly," he whispered back up to her, his gaze training on the bushes lining the side of her house. "I just… I couldn't sleep, so…"

A stray noise from her parents' room made Cindy shush him hastily, and she waited in anxious silence for a moment, her ears straining to pick up any further sounds, but when none came, she deemed it safe to continue.

"We can't talk like this," she whispered as she turned back to him. "I might get in trouble."

"Oh," he said softly and she could almost hear his sigh as he turned to go.

"Wait right there," she added quickly as she leaned back into her room to shut the window. "I'll be down in a few minutes."

"What?"

She almost smiled at the surprise present in his voice. "We need to talk, so I'll be right down." And before he could say anything in reply, she shut the window with a soft click.

* * *

Cindy changed in two minutes flat, throwing on a pair of pants and a sweatshirt while tying her hair off in a hasty ponytail and hunting in vain for her shoes. She finally found them stashed under her bed (the last place she'd ever expected, as she had a habit of being painfully organized when it came to her room) and after shutting off her light, she returned to the window. She reopened it before ducking out of sight and began to hunt under the window seat for the emergency ladder her mom had given her just a few weeks ago.

"Cindy?"

Jimmy's soft tones reached her and she straightened slightly to peer over the windowsill at him.

"What is it?"

He was frowning lightly and he hesitated before responding. "You… you aren't going to jump or something, are you?"

"What, worried about me?" She couldn't help herself; she was so conditioned to respond to any form of kindness from him with a barb, and winced when he bristled instantly. "Sorry," she added quickly, cutting him off before he could start yelling. "No, I am not going to jump. I'm smart enough to realize that I could seriously hurt myself at this height, T'ai Chi training or no."

He opened and shut his mouth a few times, as she'd never tried to stop a brewing argument before, but he finally settled on another light frown. "Then what are you doing? What are you looking for?"

"This fire ladder my mom gave me," she whispered and her hand finally closed around the cool metal hooks. "I know it's probably a good thing that I have it in case of emergencies, but part of me feels that it's kind of a waste of space."

"That's exactly what the people on the _Titanic_ said about lifeboats," he said softly and she couldn't help the smirk that rose to her lips as she secured it over the windowsill and let it unravel down to the ground.

"Yeah, and as long as you live in the neighborhood, we can't be too careful, right? Who knows what you might wind up blowing up one of these days," she said before swinging herself out the window and sliding down the ladder easily.

"Ha, ha," he snapped as she hopped from the last rung and turned to him. He was looking at her with a rather irritated expression, but it faded quickly to nervousness when she took a few steps towards him.

"So where do you want to go to talk?" she whispered finally, trying to suppress her own set of butterflies. For some reason it had been much easier to hurl insults at him out her window, and now that she was faced with him…

_Just stay calm, Cindy,_ she thought as Jimmy resumed nibbling on his lower lip. _You can't afford to mess this chance up..._

"Well, how about the lab?" he finally suggested. "It's the safest, as well as being the most secluded place I can think of."

Cindy frowned a little; she'd wanted them to talk on neutral ground, so to speak, but he did have a point about the safety part. No kid in their right mind would willingly wander around Retroville in the middle of the night; excluding their little trip to Retro Land, of course. That had been a matter of honor.

"I guess so," she said at last. "Let's hurry up, okay? It's cold out here."

* * *

Well, it looked for a moment that this was going to be the last chapter, but as I started writing the next part, it kept getting longer and longer and longer, to the point of "Oh my gosh, no one is going to want to read this like this." So I've moved their little chat to the next chapter so I won't feel rushed and can include appropriate amounts of mush… Anyway, stay tuned, review, and I'll love you forever.

Next part will be up in a few days, I SWEAR! If it's not, feel free to flood me with emails demanding an update. I'm more inclined to do anything when someone is poking me.


	15. The Infamous Talk

(pokes her head in after ages and ages of not posting) I am so so sorry, everyone, for not getting this up sooner! My life has just become one hectic moment after another, and while I know that's not a good excuse, I just haven't had the energy to write in AGES. But I finally sat down and wrote this, and it's a little longer than usual to make up for all the waiting! Hugs to everyone who's been waiting patiently (or not so patiently… I'm surprised no one has hunted me down yet for leaving this alone for so long!) and hope you enjoy this part! (grins)

This is the standard disclaimer… and hopefully it's the last? (Or maybe not so hopefully, if you're really enjoying this story… but all good things must eventually end, right? Unfortunately…)

_To Cross the Rubicon_  
By: pottergal

Chapter Fifteen: The Infamous Talk

It took only a few minutes before the two of them were situated in the relative warmth of Jimmy's lab. Cindy claimed the couch she'd awoken from previously while Jimmy sent Goddard to cover for Cindy in the event that her parents woke up and decided to check on her. She supposed he was trying to issue the command without her overhearing, and even though he failed miserably, she saved him the embarrassment by pretending she hadn't. Instead she fiddled with a set of test tubes that sat on the table beside her and pretended to be engrossed in the chemical simmering on the hot plate.

"It's hopefully going to be a super fertilizer for my mom," she heard Jimmy say as his attention returned to her. "She's always wanted a garden but claims that she doesn't have a green thumb to save her life."

"Have you tested it yet?" she asked, looking up from the green concoction to find him watching her anxiously.

"No," he said, letting his gaze drop. "I don't think it's quite ready yet."

"Ah."

"So…" she began, trying to think of something to break the thick silence that had suddenly settled between them.

"Cindy, I think-"

"Jimmy, I need to-"

The two of them cut off their sentences instantly, as they'd spoken at exactly the same time. Cindy watched as Jimmy blinked a little before shutting his mouth with a faint click and she couldn't help the small giggle that escaped. They sat in silence for a little longer, but Jimmy gestured to her and spoke, ending the awkward moment.

"You first," he said simply before taking a seat in his chair. She gave him a small smile and dropped her gaze to the couch, suddenly rather shy. What did she want to say? 'Let's go back to hating each other because it's the easiest thing to do?' or 'What do you think of me now that you know that I'm secretly in love with you and have been in love with you for as long as I can remember?'

_Well, I got my chance to talk to him. Pity I have no idea what I want to talk about,_ she thought, pressing her lips into a thin line grimly. _There's just too much that I want to ask in the first place... I can't pick one thing and have it not seem like it came out of nowhere!_

"Now what?" she blurted out at last and began picking at the fabric of the couch, her gaze steadily burning each stitch into memory. When he didn't respond right away, she summoned up courage and looked at him, only to find that he was frowning lightly.

"What do you mean?" he asked finally and she began chewing on the inside of her cheek in thought. "As in, what do we do about today? Or…"

"Mostly," she said with a small sigh. "I wasn't being very clear, and I'm sorry. This day has just been… well, crazy, and there's so much I feel that I need to know." She drew a deep breath at that, attempting to force her mind into a state of calm that she desperately needed right now.

"I think the first thing to ask is what do you want to do about today? Do you just want to forget it?" she continued, her voice dropping slightly as she finished, and she bit her lip. Jimmy's frown deepened at her words and Cindy felt like someone was suddenly squeezing her heart painfully, but she couldn't stave off the anxiety that had befallen her.

"You mean… act like nothing happened? Act like you never told me…?" he said at last, meeting her gaze for the briefest of instances. The look in his eyes made her heart leap slightly, though she couldn't say why, as he seemed to be honestly considering her proposal of sorts.

"Well, I don't know," she said. "What are you thinking?"

"Well…"

He sighed faintly and sat back, his heel tapping lightly on the floor as he thought. "You do realize I could wipe this from our memories relatively easily, right?"

"You… could?" Her breathing hitched once again. "You mean you want to forget?"

He was silent for a while before sighing again and looking up at her. "I'm afraid I can't just do that," he said, sounding slightly regretful, and Cindy felt a pang echo through her. "If I just simply made everyone forget that this happened, I would forget the promise I made to May, and… well, to put it succinctly, it's just not an option for me."

"But…?" she prompted, voicing the unspoken part of his statement, and he looked at her for a moment before continuing.

"But that's not to say that you're exempt," he said and she blinked at him. "I mean, if you wanted to forget all the embarrassing stuff you did today and have everyone else forget as well to save yourself the humiliation, I could do that."

She sat back against the couch, her mind reeling with the possibilities and implications of his words, and something he'd said earlier, just before giving her the antidote, came unbidden to her mind.

_Wouldn't it be more meaningful if you were able to tell me all this when you were your regular self?_

"Do you… do you want me to forget?"

He started at her question, caught off guard, but she couldn't read the rapid succession of emotions that flitted across his face.

"I don't think it should matter," he said at last. "It's your decision, because after all, you're the only one who can decide if you can or can't live with the knowledge of what you did today. I shouldn't have any influence over it."

His words warmed her heart curiously and she gave him a small smile that made him blink.

"When did you get so smart, Neutron?"

He grinned, a bit of his old cockiness shining through the subdued mask he'd been wearing for the duration of their conversation. "I'm the boy genius, remember?"

"How could I forget?" she said, but her smile soon dropped and she bit her lip.

"I don't know, Jimmy," she said after a moment of deliberation. "That would certainly make my life a whole lot easier, I have to admit, but…" She met his gaze to find him watching her seriously. Her heart practically leapt into her throat at that, and she shook her head slightly.

"I don't want to forget."

"Really?" he replied, his voice slightly hoarse, and she looked away. "Why? You just revealed something that you've kept hidden, something that you most likely weren't ever going to reveal. Why wouldn't you jump at this chance to hit the reset button, so to speak?"

"Because this is life, dummy," she shot back at him, her eyes flashing slightly with growing anger. "There is no reset button on life. When you do something embarrassing you have to deal with it; the same goes for everything else for that matter. You can't take things back, and to be able to do otherwise, like making everyone forget, would be cheating. I'd be a coward if I let you erase my memory, Jimmy, because it would mean that I'm not strong enough of a person to live with the consequences of my actions."

"But you were under the influences of an alien drug, Cindy," he countered, though he did seem slightly unnerved by her words. It made her wonder… had he ever erased her memory before? She had no way of knowing, unfortunately… "I'd say you've got the right to demand a reset."

"You want me to forget, don't you?" she snapped, unable to keep a handle on the anger bubbling up from within her, and he gave her an exasperated look that made her blink.

"Cindy, think about it," he retorted. "Even if I made you and everyone else forget what had happened, I would still remember, right?" She blinked a second time.

"Then why bother erasing my memory at all?" she muttered, though loud enough for him to hear. "If it wouldn't change the fact that you still know that I…" she trailed off as a faint blush spread across his face and he looked away hastily. She coughed, casting around quickly for a different track to take.

"Do you have any other suggestions for a solution?" she said at last, and he shrugged, still not looking at her.

"I kind of already had Libby tell everyone that you two really were just playing a joke on me," he said, his gaze finally coming to rest on something off to her left. "So I guess in a way there's nothing to fix, because no one will think anything of this event in a few weeks."

"Then what are we doing up this late at night?" she asked and his jaw clenched slightly. "Why are you throwing rocks at my window so you can talk to me when we've pretty much got a solution?"

"Why?" he blurted out suddenly, much as she had done earlier. She blinked, unable to comprehend his meaning, and felt her eyes widen slightly when his gaze snapped to her. The sheer intensity and combination of emotions behind the look he'd fixed her with sent her reeling all over again; helplessness, confusion, aggravation, as well as a host of others all swam in his shockingly blue orbs.

"What…?" she managed, finding it difficult to collect her thoughts after his gaze had scattered them. "I don't…"

"Why me? Of all the people to be secretly in love with, why me?" he asked, his voice rising a little in volume as he spoke. "I mean, you fight with me on a constant basis, tease me beyond endurance, embarrass me beyond the point of reason, and just all around hate my very being!" Helplessness became the predominant emotion present, echoing in his expression as well as his words. "How could you do that, continuing day in and day out, and yet deep down…"

He trailed off with a shake of his head, dropping his gaze to the floor and hanging his head heavily. Cindy fought the urge to sigh as she brought her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, chewing on the inside of her cheek as she did so.

"I'll never understand girls," he muttered, resting his elbows on his thighs and pressing the heels of his palms to his eyes.

"I already answered your question about why I could be secretly in lo…lo…love with you," she said, forcing the word from her tongue. She might as well get used to saying it, and she'd had no problems with it earlier… "But as for why I could be so mean to you and yet harbor those kinds of feelings? Well…" She sighed again and watched him slowly lift his gaze up to her.

"Think about it, Jimmy," she said softly, working hard to keep her eyes upon him. "I was afraid."

"Of what?" he asked almost instantly, disbelief shining through the multitude of emotions crowding his face. "You're never scared of anything."

"There's one thing almost everyone is afraid of," she said as she met his gaze, almost trying to will him the answer as she clutched her knees more tightly. They waited in silence for a moment, until she finally spoke again.

"And that's rejection."

She let her sentence hang in the air and she dropped his gaze, catching on a brief glance of the realization that dawned upon his features. She could hear him sit back, as his chair emitted a faint squeak when he did so, and then silence reigned once again.

"I have a question for you," she asked finally, feeling his gaze upon her steadily. "I want to know one more thing before we inevitably decide to go back to hating each other."

"You sound like you already know the answer," he said, a touch of mirth to his words, but she refused to look at him.

"And you sound like you know the question," she retorted and heard him sigh faintly.

"Maybe," he said. "Why don't you ask it already?"

She drew a deep breath for courage. "I want to know your real reaction to all this. After the shock, the desire to get me back into my right mind, and all that." She lifted her gaze steadily, fighting to keep it so, and eventually looked him in the eye. "I want to know… how you feel about me."

Their gazes remained locked for as long as the two could keep them there, anticipation making Cindy's heart pound. She felt like her entire body was tingling, her blood pulsing through her ears, and her swallow seemed unnaturally loud. Jimmy was impossibly still, as though her mere question had rendered his muscles useless, but emotion after emotion zipped through his eyes as they softened and hardened repeatedly.

"I don't know," he said at last, squeezing his eyes shut and hiding her only window into his feelings. "This day has been insane, Cindy, and I really don't know what to say to that."

"You could at least try!" she snapped, unable to keep the anger from her voice. "What kind of answer is that, anyway?"

"It's the truth!" he snapped back. "For the love of Tesla, Cindy, I don't know how I feel! Everyone's been asking me that today. You, May… it's been nagging at me ever since you first said anything, but I can't seem to come to a logical conclusion!"

She held up a hand to stall any further protestations and he shut his mouth slowly, breathing through his nose in exasperation. His brow knit into a deep frown and she uncoiled herself from the couch to stand.

_Courage, Vortex,_ she counseled herself as she took a few tentative steps towards him. _You're never going to get a straight answer if you back down now!_

"Then let me pose the question a different way," she said, watching the exasperation fade from his eyes slightly as he sat back to listen to what she had to say. "What was your initial reaction when I kissed you earlier?"

He froze for the second time and she fought to keep from blushing. He finally shook himself from the stupor and looked at her nervously, shifting a little in his chair when she took another few steps towards him.

"You mean after the shock wore off?" he asked and she almost quirked an eyebrow.

"Yeah."

He grimaced at that and shut his eyes again before muttering something.

"What?"

He opened his eyes to glare at her, as if she were deliberately trying to make him repeat himself. "I said, cartwheels."

Cindy blinked at him, confusion making her stop in her tracks, and he grimaced again before looking away.

"So what does that mean, exactly?"

"It means I felt like doing cartwheels."

Cindy allowed a small smile to bloom on her face; he still wasn't looking at her, but she could see the faint blush spreading across his cheeks. She drew yet another deep breath for courage and closed the distance between them, leaning over slightly so she could meet his downward gaze.

"Humor me one last time," she said and he looked at her. "Stand up, okay?" He frowned but did as he was asked, and stood before her nervously, his hands wrestling with themselves discretely.

"What are you…?"

Before he could finish, she'd wrapped her arms around him and tugged him into an embrace.

He stiffened instantly, as well as uttering a cry of surprise, but when she refused to let go, he began to relax by degrees, until he was actually returning her hug. She felt a flutter of euphoria as she lightly rested her cheek on his shoulder, and he mimicked her move as his grip tightened slightly.

"So now what do you feel?" she asked softly and both felt and heard him utter a low murmur of thought.

"Warm…" he said at last.

"Happy," he added a moment later, and she pulled away slightly so that she could see his face. "But this doesn't…"

He looked so torn that she couldn't help but hug him again, this time tightening her grip enough to make him utter a soft exclamation.

"Quit trying to rationalize your heart, Jimmy," she told him and felt him sigh. She finally let him go, stepping away a little and letting him fall back into his chair. "It'll only cause you trouble."

* * *

_It'll only cause you trouble..._

Jimmy didn't respond, but merely sat and stared off into space, his eyes glazed over with introspection. He let her words roll around in his head as he fought to work through the slew of emotions he suddenly felt. Alarm… that was one of the major ones. But so was that giddy one, the same one that made him feel as though he were floating, or that he should be leaping around and doing cartwheels, or _something_. It didn't matter what, he supposed, so long as he was doing an action to work off the strange surge of energy.

And at the moment, the giddy one was winning out…

_I was right,_ he thought pensively. _I didn't want to admit it, but it seems that against all rational logic I've fallen for Cindy Vortex... the same girl who makes my life absolutely miserable._

But did she really? A traitorous part of his mind began to counter his previous statement, flooding him with the rush he felt every time they sparred mentally. He hadn't realized it, but he really did enjoy arguing with her, as she was the only one who could begin to understand topics he brought up, or rival him in the realm of knowledge.

She was an equal, really, and deep down he'd always respected and admired her for it. It also made him glad, he realized, that he wasn't the only intelligent one in the class, because it gave him a challenge every day and thus something to work for.

_Ask yourself this, Neutron,_ the same part of his mind whispered. _What would you do without her? What would you do if she suddenly up and left, vanishing from your life forever?_

He felt a strange pang of fear at that, yet it was tinged with a strange longing sorrow. He'd miss her, he realized; he'd miss her more than he'd ever imagined possible. If she left… things wouldn't be right. He couldn't imagine a normal school day without her or having any adventures that were as crazy as the ones he seemed to have when she and Libby tagged along. Those ones also happened to be the most fun…

"Jimmy?"

Her voice called him back to the present and he found her watching him, her face the picture of concern. What a change it was, to see her show something aside from contempt, to finally see beyond all her carefully contrived masks and find someone, well, _normal_. Part of him had always known that the nicer side to her did exist, having been treated to its rare appearances a few times, but he'd never consciously acknowledged that it indeed was her real personality.

"Are you going to stare at me all day or are you going to answer my question?"

He blinked, shaking himself from the stupor that had befallen him. "You asked me a question?"

"Yeah, and if you had been paying attention, you would've heard me," she said, though he noticed that her words held none of their usual animosity; instead, they were feathery and actually jovial. She was teasing him, he realized, lightly teasing him.

Like she would with one of her good friends…

"And… you're not listening again," she said, her tone still light, and he blinked for the second time. Was he really that out of it? "I guess I've destroyed all normal thought, haven't I?"

"Hm."

She laughed at that; it was a soft, musical lilting that made his insides do a funny flip, which was something they'd never, ever done before. Normally when Cindy laughed, he was either steaming with anger or willing a hole to open up and swallow him to save him from the embarrassment he felt. He didn't start to feel inklings of happiness or the warmth that accompanied it… and if he hadn't known otherwise, he would've sworn there was something terribly wrong with him.

_It's true then._

"So are you going to tell me what's on your mind all of a sudden?" she asked, and he was almost positive he'd detected faint traces of apprehension in her tone, but he was most likely wrong. What on earth would she have to be afraid of?

_It's not the effect of any kind of chemical, as I wasn't working with anything that might cause anything remotely like this._

"So I… l… l… like you," he stuttered out softly, finally finding his voice, and focused on a point below his feet curiously. He missed the way her face brightened at his words, being as engrossed with the floor as he was. "It defies all logic, but it's the only conclusion I can draw."

"Is it really such a bad thing?" she snapped suddenly, making him frown up at her in confusion. Hadn't that been what she'd wanted to hear all night? "You say it as though you don't want to like me."

"That's not true." The words had slipped from him before he'd realized it, and he shut his mouth from the shock he felt. Where had that one come from?

"It… isn't?" He could almost hear the hope shimmering in her words and found that she was watching him, leaning forwards slightly as she did so, her eyes holding a distinctly expectant gleam.

"I… well, it's just going to take me a while to get used to this," he said and she leaned back on her heels, her expression altering to one of quiet thought. "I mean, think about it. What would you do if you were in my shoes?"

"I was in your shoes once, remember?" she chided gently and his mind flew back to the incident with the love pheromone. "And I tried to take everything in stride then."

As Jimmy considered that previous incident, some part of him felt that he'd been handed a missing key of sorts. A strange feeling had nagged dimly at him then, and he'd simply brushed it aside until finally forgetting about it. But now that he could take the memory out into the open again, things abruptly clicked. He'd always slightly wondered _why_ Cindy would even agree to meet with him, or would act as though she really _did_ want to be his valentine, and now that he knew the truth…

_It must've been horrible for her,_ he thought absently, recalling the way he'd forced her from the lab. _To finally have part of your dream come true, only to have it snatched away. No wonder she was especially vicious during those following weeks..._

"So it seems we're back to square one," he said and watched as she bit her lip.

"Only this time the question is, what do we do know that we now we both l…like each other?" She was getting better at saying it, he had to admit.

"Yeah."

She sighed at that and began pacing a little, tapping her fingers against her upper arm in thought. He watched her as she traced a tight circle with her steps, her hair reflecting the artificial lights of his lab and her eyes glossed over as she trained them inwardly. He sat back in his chair, not daring to interrupt her contemplation, and merely waited for her answer as patiently as he could.

Heaven knew he wouldn't be able to sleep until some kind of solution was reached and all loose ends were tied off… he'd learned that lesson the hard way.

_A mind can really be a treacherous thing,_ he mused as Cindy completed yet another circle. He'd been working hard at sleep, really he had, but for some reason his thoughts wouldn't quit racing. Nor would they leave off the image of her face, from when he'd seen her in the Ojufemi's living room, with the sun haloing her hair and her skin glowing from the smile she'd graced him with. She really was rather pretty…

_Beautiful, you mean._

He sighed a little, but didn't have the energy to argue, so he contented himself by resting his chin in his hand and watching Cindy wear a path in the cement of the floor.

"You come to a conclusion yet?" he asked, unable to keep silent any longer, and she quit walking to shrug slightly.

"Well, that you were right, and that this is going to take some getting used to," she said, emitting a sigh of her own. "I mean, we can't just start acting like a couple, because not only would that cause reactions I doubt we want to deal with, but we haven't even really been friends." She was chewing on the inside of her cheek, he realized, as well as tapping her foot impatiently. "We've been too busy hating each other to do anything else."

"So you're suggesting that we get to know each other a little better?" he asked, starting to wrap his mind around a few ideas of his own.

"Pretty much," she said. "I mean, some might consider us friends, but…" She sighed again, rubbing her eyes in frustration. "Friends would be able to hang out without fighting over stupid things the way we do."

"True," he said, nodding slightly in agreement. "So what else were you thinking? Getting to know each other wise."

"I hadn't gotten that far," she said before looking at him. "You sound like you've already got some ideas going."

"Maybe," he answered before picking at the fabric of his chair absently. "I was thinking… that I wouldn't mind if you wanted to help me with some experiments… but I can understand if you don't want to. I mean-"

"I'd like that," she said, cutting him off, and he blinked when he found that she was smiling slightly. "That's a good idea, and I think I might have another one." He looked at her expectantly and her smile widened a little. "Would you be opposed to coming to some of my T'ai Chi classes with me? It's really an all-level session and the instructors are great. I think you'd enjoy it."

"Sure," he said easily. "I've been kind of wanting to do something like that anyway…" She was beaming now, in a way that made his heart rate quicken. "But you don't have the right to tease me when I screw up, all right?"

"The same goes for you, Mr. Genius," she retorted lightly. "Don't expect me to be much help with your experiments, and don't act all superior when I ask about something I don't understand, okay?"

"You've got yourself a deal," he said, unable to stop the grin that slid onto his face as he extended his hand. She took it and shook it lightly before hugging him shyly. It was a nice change, he admitted, from the death squeeze he'd been subjected to over the day.

"Think you'll be able to sleep now?" she asked as she pulled away, leaving him feeling strangely cold.

"If not, I'll have Goddard knock me out," he said and was rewarded with a light giggle. "Shall I walk you home?" he added after a moment and earned himself another bright smile.

"How could I possibly refuse?"

He smiled at that as they began to walk from his lab, and after a moment's hesitation, he slipped his hand in hers. She glanced at him in surprise, but happiness shone in her eyes, and she squeezed his hand gently, twining her fingers through his. He returned the squeeze, and though he felt awkward, the giddy feeling was back, lightening his steps and making sheer joy bubble up within him.

_So this is bliss...

* * *

_

Wahoo! I know, not too fluffy, but I'm trying to strike a balance with my perpetually realistic side and my hopelessly romantic one. They are just children after all, and last time I checked, twelve-year-olds weren't having giant make out sessions. Some might, but Jimmy and Cindy just don't strike me as the type, so I tried my hardest to make it warm and fuzzy and yet true to the characters at the same time. Hopefully I did them justice…

I've got a short little epilogue in mind… let's see if it ever works its way out of me! Review, and I'll love you forever!


	16. Epilogue: A Line Finally Crossed

Shocking, isn't it? Two updates in one week! Anyway, here's the epilogue for you all, it actually managed to write its way out of me. :D Let me say a HUGE thank you to each and every single one of my reviewers: I've never gotten this many reviews for a story and I'm extremely flattered by all the attention. I know someone asked if I was a fan of HP (due to my pen name) and yes, I'm a huge fan of HP. Someone also asked how I get so many reviews? Honestly, I have no idea, I wish there was the perfect answer to why some people get more reviews than others. All I've got to say is write from your heart (corny, I know) and keep at it! Don't let negativity stop you; instead, use it as a way to improve. :) Hope that helps!

Final disclaimer… not sure if I said that last time, but oh well, I'm saying it again. I don't own JN! Nick owns JN! I'm just borrowing the characters, granted without permission, but it is for non-profit fun.

Now enjoy the epilogue!

_To Cross the Rubicon_  
By: pottergal

Epilogue: A Line Finally Crossed

It took a little while for everyone to finally notice the bizarre change that had occurred between Jimmy and Cindy. No one could quite explain it, and it had started out so subtly that no one had even really given it much thought, until someone absently noted that the two weren't quite fighting the way they used to. Granted, they did argue, but they never had all-out screaming matches, which had been a weekly occurrence. Nor did they start bets over who would have the better project; in fact, they'd even willingly collaborated on a few of them, much to the bafflement and surprised pleasure of Miss Fowl.

No one really complained, as both of them seemed to be showing off a heck of a lot less, leaving other students in the class to finally be able to speak. No one would've known how good Nissa was at poetry, or that Butch had an artistic streak in him, or that Nick actually had a pretty nice singing voice. Time that had normally been reserved for Jimmy and Cindy's fights could finally be used constructively, and the class was generally flourishing because of it.

Their closest friends were the first ones to notice, of course, though even they weren't quite sure what had happened to cause the change. One day Cindy had been crazy, chasing after Jimmy like some kind of monster, and the next she was back to normal, with the two of them starting little disagreements like before. But there was no hostility behind the fights, like neither of them had really meant it, and Libby had been the first to finally call Cindy on it.

"So what's up with you and Neutron?" she'd asked one day a few weeks after the incident. They'd been walking to the Candy Bar, for their weekly treat of sundaes, when Libby had finally remembered the way the two had acted during the presentations of their history projects.

"You almost never waste an opportunity to out-do him." Libby had fixed Cindy with a suspicious glance at that, to which she'd received a confused, yet closed, expression. "He cured you, right? You're not just carefully hiding that insanity?"

"Libby, don't worry," Cindy had reassured. "I'm perfectly normal. I just… I don't feel like fighting with him anymore."

Libby had raised both her eyebrows at that and had stopped walking. "So you gonna tell me what happened to bring this on? How come the two of you are suddenly relatively nice to each other? And why you suddenly can't do as much with me after school, or why you're so happy to go to your T'ai Chi lessons?"

Maybe it was just her, but Cindy had seemed slightly uneasy for a moment.

"Well?"

Cindy had finally sighed. "Let's just say that things… well, that incident crossed a line of sorts, and I don't think things are ever going to go back to the way they were, Libs."

"What do you mean, a line has been crossed? What kind of line?" she'd asked suspiciously, eyeing her best friend as she shifted from foot to foot and stared down at the sidewalk. "Cindy, what is it that you're not telling me?"

"Well…"

"Spit it out! Or else I'm not buying your sundae!"

"Hey! That's low!" Cindy had glared up at her then, but Libby had merely given her a look. "All right, all right. After Ji-Neutron managed to cure me, we had a long talk." Libby had noted Cindy's slip and hasty cover up; since when were the two of them on a first name basis? "We basically agreed that we would work to become better friends, so we hang out every once in a while now."

"Who would've thought…" Libby had murmured before shaking her head absently. "Well, if it means no more crazy bets and work-me-to-death kinds of projects, I'm all for this change. I only wish it had happened sooner…"

Cindy had rolled her eyes. "Can we go get sundaes now?"

"Sure. But for not telling me all this sooner, you're buying."

"_Libby!_"

* * *

"Hand me that screwdriver, would you?"

Cindy immediately set down the wrench she'd been using to tighten some of the bolts on the interior of Jimmy's rocket and began rummaging around in the tool bag beside her. After a moment she came up with two, one with the flat blade, and the other with the plus-sign design.

"Which one did you need?" she asked, leaning over the edge as Jimmy wiggled out from beneath the rocket and stood before brushing himself off.

"It doesn't matter, I'm using universal screws," he said as he plucked the flat blade from her outstretched hands. "This one will work better though, because they're rather large. How goes the installation?"

"I'm almost done," she said, wiping some sweat from her brow. "All I have to do is tighten a few more nuts and the new plating on your rocket will be perfect." He gave her a grin at that before ducking down out of sight. "What about your task? Almost done?"

"Almost." His reply was muffled as he'd positioned himself underneath the rocket once more. "I'll tighten these screws as much as I can by hand, and once we're done with the body overhaul, we can start on the engine."

"Who knew that rockets could be so much like cars," Cindy mused before settling back down, wrench in hand.

"Well, of course," Jimmy responded as the clicking of tools filled the air. "Normally I could let this sit for a few more light-years, but I wanted to try out some modifications on the engine, and that requires a stronger body to handle the stress."

"Are those modifications the ones you got from April? The ones for a hyperdrive, or whatever?" she asked, tightening the last nut and leaning back with a sense of accomplishment. She heard him grunt a negative as she set the wrench down and vaulted over the side of the rocket, landing gracefully on the ground.

"I don't have the capabilities to build something like that," he said as he wiggled out from beneath the rocket again. "Half the metals she specified don't exist on our planet and a lot of the design specifications are meant for a space cruiser the size of a mansion. I couldn't simply scale it down, either, as it would ruin the integrity of the design as a whole, and I'd run the risk of a massive catastrophic failure."

"Failure as it blowing up-the-Earth-failure, right?" she asked as she helped him stand.

"Bingo," he said as he wiped sweat from his brow. "I'll have Goddard double check the work we've done while we take a break. And once that's done, and we're sure the body is to the specifications, we'll start working on the engine."

"Sounds like a plan," she said as they made their way to the main area of the lab, stretching cramped muscles as they did so. "I can't believe you used to attempt stuff like this on your own, Neutron."

"Well, I'd have Goddard helping," he responded as he plopped down in his chair and she began rummaging around in the fridge he'd installed for a couple of purple flurps. "Granted, things do go faster now," he added when she tossed him one. He caught it neatly, and she grinned at him.

"Your reflexes are getting better," she said as she opened her own can and sipped it while hunting atop the fridge for some straws. "And here you asked me if T'ai Chi really was doing any good for you…"

He groaned in response and accepted the straw from her outstretched hand. "Don't remind me. I think I still have bruises on my backside…"

"You'll get used to it," she said, smiling. "If it makes you feel any better, you're improving a heck of a lot faster than a lot of the students who've been there for a few months."

"But I still get my butt kicked whenever we have sparring…"

"You are the one who elected to take regular Kung Fu classes on top of the T'ai Chi," she pointed out and he glared off into space sullenly. "By the way, how are those? I've been thinking of taking some, just out of curiosity."

"Faster paced, definitely," he said, finishing off his soda, and tossing the can into the recycle. "I think you might enjoy them more, actually."

"I'll give it some more thought," she said as he stood. "Ready to get back to work?"

"Whenever you are."

* * *

They were knee-deep in the engine overhaul when the inevitable happened; Carl and Sheen appeared out of nowhere to receive one of the biggest shocks of their young lives. Cindy was actually surprised that it hadn't happened sooner, as Libby had figured out something was up weeks earlier, and she'd half-assumed that Sheen and Carl wouldn't be far behind in figuring out that something had changed between her and Jimmy.

_I guess he's not as close to them as I am to Libby,_ she thought absently as she dragged her forearm across her forehead. Her hands were covered in engine grease, and she had a feeling that some of it was smudged on her cheek, but without a mirror she had no way to be sure.

"So explain again why Cindy is here?" Sheen asked for the tenth time. The four of them were still situated around the rocket engine and Jimmy was trying in vain to explain things. Cindy supposed she could've stepped in and helped him, but part of her was holding her back, waiting to see just want Jimmy's response would be.

And if it was stupid, she wasn't going to speak to him again. Well, first she'd kill him. Then she wouldn't speak to him.

"Cindy and I decided to try and become better friends," he said at last, which made both Carl and Sheen blink, as though the sentence just didn't compute. "She's been helping me with stuff around the lab for the past month."

"Jimmy, a private word, if you please," Sheen said, throwing an arm around the shorter boy and tugging him out of supposed earshot of Cindy. Carl followed, throwing worried glances over his shoulder at her every once in a while.

"You do realize that she's a _girl_, right?" Sheen hissed, and Cindy couldn't help but bristle.

"Of course I do," Jimmy shot back, not bothering to keep his voice down.

"Then have you taken complete leave of your senses?" Sheen hissed again, though this time his tone was definitely louder. "You're letting a _girl_ into the lab! And she's helping you with your experiments! What if she's secretly sabotaging everything you do? Ever thought of that?"

"Sheen, quit being hysterical. There's nothing to worry about!" Jimmy snapped, stepping away from the two of them.

Sheen looked him up and down at that before glancing at Carl. "He's obviously under some kind of hypnosis. The Jimmy I know wouldn't ever let a girl within ten feet of his lab."

"So what do you suggest we do?" Carl asked, eyeing both Jimmy and Cindy anxiously.

"The only thing we can do," Sheen said gravely. "You distract her while I grab Jimmy and we'll make a break for it!" Cindy blinked at that, but before she could say anything, Carl had leapt in front of her and begun to wave his hands around while making strange noises.

"Sheen, put me down!"

"Not until we get you out of the control of the bewitcher!" Cindy heard him say. "Goddard! Goddard, we've got to get Jimmy out of here!"

"Carl, would you mind moving now?" Cindy asked after a few moments of the red-head's silly attempt at a diversion. He paused at her words, blinked a few times, and lowered his arms.

"I wasn't… distracting?" he asked, and she gave him her best glare, one that made him whimper and scurry out of the way as fast as possible.

"Sheen, run for your life! I failed!"

The boy in question turned slightly at Carl's high-pitched warning, only to find Cindy's glare now focused on him. He froze, though a muscle below his eye twitched, and she took a few steps toward him.

"It seems I've been left with no choice…" And with that, he dropped Jimmy and began cowering at her feet, uttering desperate pleas for his life.

"Please, oh please don't kill me! I haven't seen all of Ultralord, the long lost episode! I can't die until I've seen it all the way through at least twice!"

A sigh from Jimmy made her glance up and she found he was picking himself off the floor, albeit with Goddard's help. He gave her a look, one that made her grin slightly, and he then made his way over to the once again hysterical boy.

"Would you calm down, Sheen? Cindy isn't going to kill you," Jimmy said, rolling his eyes as Sheen started and stared up at him. "And if you would quit jumping to conclusions, I can explain."

"So you mean you haven't been bewitched?" Carl asked hesitantly, taking a few tentative steps towards Jimmy.

"No, I haven't. It's like I told you before," Jimmy said as he helped Sheen up. "You know how you and Libby will occasionally watch Ultralord together, or go out to the Candy Bar?" Cindy couldn't help but raise a few eyebrows at that. Libby had been doing… what? And without telling her?

Sheen looked thoughtful for a few moments before a light bulb seemed to go on inside his head. "Oh, I see. I'm sorry, Jimmy."

"No problem, Sheen," he responded easily. "Now if you don't mind, I… I mean, _we_ have an engine to fix." He smiled at Cindy as he spoke and she felt part of her warm curiously.

_I'd say he passed that hurdle with flying colors_…

* * *

"So you up to a test flight this afternoon?"

It was late Saturday morning when Jimmy's question made her blink a little. They were currently walking home from the Kung Fu class he'd convinced her to join, and they'd been discussing the upcoming science fair, along with the possibility of designing something together for once, when his sudden change in the subject had made her blink a little.

"You think it's ready?" Cindy asked and he nodded a little when they turned the corner to their block.

"In fact, I think it's more than ready," he said before taking a rather large sip from his water bottle. "We could've tested it last week, but I wanted to double check some of the calculations."

"You mean the ones I had doubts about?" she asked curiously, and he gave her a somewhat apologetic smile.

"Yeah," he said with a little sigh. "I know I was being kind of stubborn when you brought up those questions…"

"Jimmy, you were being down right obstinate," she drawled, making him huff slightly. "But go on, I'd like to know what you found."

"Well, the calculations were within the accepted error percentage, but you were right," he said, his slight glare forestalling any attempts at gloating. Not like she was going to rub it in is face though… she really was trying to work beyond that.

"We both were right," she said, compromising. "I was right about the mistake in the calculations, but you were right in the fact that they wouldn't cause any problems."

"Yet, anyway," he said as they reached her driveway. "After the test run we can adjust for some of the stresses that the mistake will cause on the body frame."

She gave him a smile. "Sounds like a plan. What time were you thinking?"

"I'm going to go take a shower and then I'll be in my lab, setting everything up," he said, glancing at his watch. "How about you come over as soon as you're ready?"

"All right," she said, nodding in agreement. "It shouldn't take me any longer than half an hour or so. Does that sound okay?"

"Sounds fine," he said and turned to go.

"Hey, Jimmy?"

"Yeah?"

Cindy shifted a moment from foot to foot before voicing the thought that had been trying to work its way out of her for weeks.

"I'm glad that things are going well between us," she said at last and felt her heart rate speed up slightly when a grin stole across his features slowly.

"And why wouldn't they be?" he said, turning to face her, his eyes dancing happily. "I'd say we work awfully well together, though you would've never guessed it, since we were too busy hating each other's guts."

"You… really think so?" she asked in a slightly hushed voice, part of her deeply touched by his comment. His grin faded slightly at her expression, but he nodded, and she threw her arms around his neck in a warm hug.

"Cindy?" he asked after a moment, and she loosened her grip enough to look him in the eye. "Not that I'm complaining or anything, but what brought this on?"

"I'm just happy," she said, smiling, and his grin returned quickly.

"That makes two of us," he said warmly, his grip on her tightening briefly. Then, before she could react, he kissed the tip of her nose and spun away quickly, though not before she'd seen his blush.

"I'll see you later, all right?"

And then he was gone, hurrying across the street and leaving Cindy to grin goofily in her driveway, touching her nose gingerly. He could be just so very cute sometimes, and he didn't even realize it…

_I love you, Jimmy Neutron... and may that never change.

* * *

_

(pottergal is now doing an insane-o happy dance) I know, I know, kind of dorky, right? I was going more for "cute" than anything, and I hope I succeeded. Hope you all enjoyed that last little bit of fluff, and I'm sad to say but this is it for ma story. Please leave a review letting me know what you think and I'll love you forever!

Yours, pottergal


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